Behind Closed Doors
by Nibinlotwen
Summary: She didn’t need to be told. She knew Hinata had left, had known ever since last Christmas Eve. - InoHina, ShikaTema, and many more! Now completed.
1. Introduction

**Behind Closed Doors** - introduction

_(includes disclaimer, warnings, pairings, the list of main characters and the chapters' names.)_

_I do not own Naruto or any of the characters or their appearances - excluding Kamato Kotomi - for they are the property of Kishimoto Masashi._

**Warnings** _(aka why this fic is rated T)_

Language (cursing, threatening, name-calling), induendoes of sexual situations, angst, innuendoes of violence, Icha Icha Paradise & Icha Icha Distractions (by me ), flashback of character death, ...

**Pairings** _(includes spoilers from the whole fic, so __**DO NOT READ**__ if you want to keep these a surprise!!)_

Main pairings: InoHina, ShikaTema

Suggested/minor pairings (at the moment): NaruHina, SasuIno, KankuHina, ChoIno,..

**The main characters**_ (about other characters when they come up in the fic)_

_Akimichi Chouji,_ 16 – "Half-outsider", hangs out with Ino. Nice, all-the-time-eating boy. Grades unknown. Acquantainces with Hinata. Would be friends, but Ino's (Chouji's crush) attitude towards Hinata stops Chouji from hanging out with her. Is in the same class as Hinata, Ino, etc. Roommate unknown.

_Haruno Sakura_, 16- The founder of Uchiha Sasuke fanclub. To her great dismay, is in Sasuke's parallel class. Has always studied at Konoha. Temperamental and the "_Gossip Lady_" of Konoha. Ino's roommate.

_Hyuga Hinata_, 16 – Average grades. Transfers to Konoha due tp the destruction of her previous school, Kunoichi All Girls School. Temari's roommate.

_Nara Shikamaru_, 15 – One class "ahead" because of his geniousness (it was discovered only a little time ago due to his lazyness to make an effort in any exams). Grades average because is too lazy to make an effort. Engaged to Temari. Is in same class as Hinata, Ino and Sasuke. Gaara's roommate.

_Sabaku Gaara,_18 – Two years "behind" because of some trouble with the law. Grades passable. Sees right through Hinata's facade and realizes she's not as innocent as she looks. Is in the same homeroom as Hinata. Shikamaru's roommate.

_Sabaku Kankuro_, 19 - Konoha University Student, Temari's brother. Appears as easy-going, humorous and perverted. Roommate unknown.

_Sabaku Temari_, 21 - Casual, student of Konoha's University section. Gaara and Kankuro's sister. Engaged to Shikamaru. Hinata's roommate.

_Uchiha Sasuke_, 17 – "One class behind" due to the mass-murder of his family. The Konoha heartthrob. Excellent grades. Hates his crazy fangirls expect one, Yamanaka Ino, the girl with a mystrerious past. Is in same class as Hinata and Ino. Roommate unknown.

_Uzumaki Naruto_, 16 – Ramen. Believe it! Loud and vigorous "class clown" of Konoha. Is in same class as his long-time crush, Haruno Sakura. Roommate unknown.

_Yamanaka Ino_, 17 – Transfers to Konoha a year before Hinata, reason being her bad grades and the big chance of having to repeat a year. Soon after joins the Uchiha fanclub, led by her ex-best friend, Sakura. Sakura's roommate.

**Chapters **

1. _Introduction_

2. Chapter 1: _Burn Baby, Burn _

3. Chapter 2: _Icha Icha Alone _

4. Chapter 3: _Apart_

5. Chapter 4: _Of Notes And Arranged Marriages _

6. Chapter 5: _Rules, _what _rules!? _

7. Chapter 6: _Naruto _

8. Chapter 7: _Not Interested _

9. Chapter 8: _A Fallacy _

10. Chapter 9: _What Really Happened That Night _

11. Chapter 10: _Of Stalkers And Uchiha Pride _

12. Chapter 11: _Hyuga Neji And Violet Underwear_

13. Chapter 12: _The Secret Is Out_

14. Chapter 13: _Influence _

15. Chapter 14: _Closeness_

16. Chapter 15: _Of a Maiden's Honour_

17. Chapter 16: _Facing the Reality _

18. Chapter 17: _Chapter With No Name _

19. Chapter 18: _Icha Icha Returns!_

20. Chapter 19: _Home Truths_

21. Chapter 20: _What Temari Is Capable Of_

22. Chapter 21: _Piece of Her Mind_

23. Chapter 22: _All About Us_

24. Chapter 23: _Apology_

25. Chapter 24: _Aliases_

26. Chapter 25: _Confessions_

27. Chapter 26: _Shikamaru's Speech_

28. Chapter 27:_ Chapter Seven_

29. Chapter 28: _Betrayal_

30. Chapter 29: G_oing Soft_

31. Chapter 30: _Sunny_

32. Chapter 31a: _Once Upon a December_

33. Chapter 31b: _Once Upon a December_

A/N: My first Naruto High School Drama. This (as most likely all my future fics) is centered on Hinata. I don't own the series/characters/etc., just the complex plot that I hope I can remember myself... ;

P.S. I'm obsessed with the word count, so don't bother asking about the yay-comments if the chapters are unusually long for me.. I try my best ! (More that 1000 words/chapter is my goal. And by words I mean the actual story, excluding my blabbers and A/N's.)


	2. Burn Baby, Burn

A/N: My first Naruto High School Drama. This (as most likely all my future fics) is centered on Hinata. I don't own the series/characters/etc., just the complex plot that I hope I can remember myself... ;)

* * *

_Chappie 1 – Burn Baby, Burn (rewritten)  
_

* * *

**Kunoichi, August, Thursday **

The fire alarm went off.

The school grounds were starting to fill with panicking students of Kunoichi All-Girls' School. Most of the younger girls were crying, the shock from being woken up by a shrill alarm finally fading. A few panic-stricken cries could be heard from inside the building where a small group of students tried to get out. A high-pitched scream was heard from one of the highest towers – the High School section of the girls' dormitory. Yuhi Kurenai, the music and art teacher of 12 years ran inside to find the poor girl who had most likely been somehow trapped into the school. One thing was amiss, though.

Fire was nowhere to be seen.

When the fire brigade arrived, all but one student were outside, shivering despite the unusually warm wind. Finally Kurenai walked outside, carrying a pale girl in her arms. The young woman's long, dark bluish hair was partly covered in dark, almost fluid-like substance which was running out from a big cut in her arm. One student, Tenten, recognized the girl as the shy and silent girl who had used to be Yamanaka Ino's – the famous Kunoichi Beauty's - roommate. She barely had the time to check if her fellow student was alright when a loud bang erupted from inside the building.

The windows of the cafeteria were shattered and a flash of big flames of fire could be seen. Soon another bang shot out from the other side of the school, where the principal's office and teachers' lounge had been just a few seconds ago. The students and teachers stood there for a moment, unable to move. After recovering from the surprise of the sudden explosions the fire brigade rushed into action.

Hinata's eyes opened as another part of the school blew up. She was weak from all the bloodloss. Warm red eyes turned to look down at her. "Try to get some sleep, Hinata. You're safe now" a soothing voice said. Hinata smiled a little; even in the middle of a chaos the woman's voice could calm the shaking girl down.

"Kurenai-sensei.. Thank you".

* * *

Hinata was happy. Finally, after half a year of loneliness, she got out of the hell-hole she had called 'home'. The Kunoichi All-Girls' School had been blown up – literally. And on the same day, according to the official reports, just before the explosions she had tried to get away from this world with a little help of a small knife she had taken from the kitchens. Luckily Kurenai-sensei had heard her screams of pain and came to get her before it had been too late.

Kunoichi had been Hinata's home for all the years she had studied there, right from the first grade. But as in all schools, not all the students were nice: there had been bullies. She had been picked on due to her shyness until her saviour, her heroine, her roommate in High School had transferred there.

Yes, Yamanaka Ino, a beautiful blonde girl with sky-blue eyes, had been her first crush. At first they had begun as acquaintances, but after few weeks their relationship had become much more. That is, until Ino transferred again, after five years of studying in Kunoichi.

Hinata had known about Ino's bad school grades but had been shocked to hear from her best friend, _only_ friend, that she would have to stay behind a class. And as soon as the news reached Ino's parents, she was gone. Her father had made her transfer to Konoha Senior High School, a private school for the rich and privileged so no-one would find out about the disgrace she had almost dragged her whole family in.

Since then Hinata's life had been hell.

The bullies from years ago came back and obviously had decided to make up for the five years Hinata had been out of their reach, in the protection of the Kunoichi Beauty. She had taken the beatings, the teasing and insults for half a year before she had snapped and tried to end it in a way she would never had thought possible, only to be saved by her favourite teacher, Kurenai-sensei. The school building in pieces, her father had decided that it would be best for her to go to a new school – home schooling wasn't popular these days. And to Hinata's utter delight, it was to be the same school Ino was, Konoha.

* * *

734 words.

Yes, I'm rewriting it. _Again_. I just can't seem to catch the plot bunny.. and my muse has been on vacation for too long. So, minor changing but nothing drastic, including little hints for the revelations on the future chapters.

P.S. No matter _how_ many times I rewrite these, there will always be misspellings. Please inform me if something particularly catches your eye. I'd be glad to correct them .


	3. Icha Icha Alone

_ Chappie 2 – Icha Icha Alone (rewritten)  
_

* * *

**Konoha, Friday**

Her hands shook as she read the highlighted headline of the newspaper. She couldn't believe it: her old school, blown up to pieces? And seeing that her current school, Konoha Senior High, was the nearest school, most of the students (well, those who could afford it anyway) would transfer there. She took a last look at the headline and threw the newspaper away from her in a burst of anger. She didn't want them to come, didn't want the rumours to spread.. she didn't want to see _her_. She didn't want _her_ to ruin what she had now. A new life. A new opportunity.

"What's wrong, Ino?" A pink-haired beauty asked, not taking her eyes away from the magazine she was reading. Haruno Sakura was her name. She was sitting next to the blonde and barely had anything on her lunch tray. Opposite Ino sat Akimichi Chouji, his tray full. Sakura glanced at him now and then and glared, clearly stating that she was _not_ happy to be seen eating with him. Ino shook her head as an answer, giving no explanation to her unusual behaviour.

'_They can not know. My reputation, all I have worked for since transferring here, can't be taken away from me so easily.'_

"What is thiss, Yamanaka?" A deep voice asked behind Ino and Sakura. The girls paled and Chouji stopped eating. They would recognize that voice anywhere. The voice of their scary chemistry teacher, Orochimaru (1).

Ino quickly turned, wanting to get it over with – she was in a bad mood after realizing that her past just might catch up to her - and gave him the most innocent smile anyone had ever seen.

"What can I help you with, Orochimaru-sensei?" Ino's pretended angelic smile faded instantly as she saw the crumpled newspaper in his hand. Their teacher was a neat_freak_. There were many rumours of his punishments to those who tried to throw paperballs into a trash can but had missed..

"Detention, Yamanaka. After school in my classroom", he said throwing the mass of newspaper pages onto her lap. He turned and stalked away, stopping once in a while to listen to the students' converstations. He stood a bit too long behind the popular boys' table which made Sakura clench her hands into fists. She wouldn't hit a teacher, but couldn't help but dream of the day she graduated and finally got to plummel the Chemistry teacher to the ground for looking at _her _Sasuke-kun! Then, as if a lightning, it hit her. If Ino had _detention_ after school..

"Seems like you can't come to the fanclub meeting after all, Yamanaka", Sakura said, happiness evident in her voice. Ino didn't answer, but thought '_yay, I don't have to see you after school, forehead-girl!'_, collected the pages of the newspaper and threw them into a bin which conveniently was situated next to the lunch table.

She hoped that Hinata wouldn't transfer to Konoha. Ino hadn't made any contact with the dark-haired girl after leaving and to be honest, it was better that way. Now Yamanaka Ino was #2 fan of Uchiha Sasuke, a _boy_, and she was determined to keep it that way.

"I wonder how she's been..", the blonde whispered to herself. She had gotten over Hinata – that's at least what she'd been telling herself – but still missed her. And besides, the smaller girl had always been an easy target to bully due to her shyness and want to not bother anyone with her problems a.k.a. not getting help.

'_Please, be over me, Hinata..'_

* * *

**Konoha, a week later, August, Friday**

She was nervous. Everybody was looking at her and she didn't like it one bit. Sure she was the 'newbie', but so were many other girls! Okay, maybe they were staring because she was wearing the school uniform.

Despite being a private school for the rich and priviledged, the Konoha students were allowed to wear their own clothes. But Hinata, she had never been quite comfortable with 'normal clothes', mostly because she had worn an uniform since her first grade, minus the summer holidays that she spent at home, training.

To Hinata's misfortune, all the girls who had transferred with her were not exactly nice. To put it bluntly, they were bullies. One bright side was seen, anyhow; they were so occupied with staring the boys – who had started to get creeped out by the lustful looks the ex-Kunoichi girls sent them - that they had left Hinata alone.

_Alone_ being the key word.

She had moved in to the dorms just yesterday and hadn't made any friends. '_Not _yet_, but I will.. soon.._', she kept telling herself. She knew it was for nothing; she'd never been one to hang out in big groups and looking at the students she immediately knew that they all had a group where they belonged. Gangs or cliques, in other words.

She was getting desperate. She hadn't seen Ino anywhere, and knowing her, Hinata knew that the blonde would be one of the most colourful students and would stand out in a crowd. Maybe she wasn't up yet or had different classes? It was five minutes to nine, meaning the classes started in five minutes.

Yesterday the vice principle, Jiraya, had showed her around the big school. He had given her a map and told her to go to him if she had any problems. His office had been marked clearly – _very_ clearly – on the map with red marker. Lastly he had shown her room. She had unpacked after he left and had gone to sleep. She hadn't seen her roommate in the evening nor in the morning.

'_I hope it is Ino..'_

* * *

The bell rang.

They were going to be late, but they didn't worry about it; their homeroom teacher was Hatake Kakashi after all. The pervert might be strict when he wanted, but he was _never_ on time.

Sakura had somehow found Sasuke and was dragging him with her. Ino sighed and fell a step behind them, still thinking about the news she had read yesterday. Shikamaru, the laziest guy on planet but a loyal friend when needed, was about to ask her what was wrong, but at that moment Ino saw the dark-haired girl who was leaning against the wall next to the door of their homeroom class. Her breath caught in her throat: it was Hinata. The blonde stopped for a second, contemplating what to do.

'_Hinata won't understand if I just ignore her.. I have to find a way to talk to her. But how?'_ Ino thougt. Then she did the only thing she could think of – she ran. Sakura and Sasuke gave her weird looks as she passed them. Ino took a deep breath before Hinata had even the chance to turn to look at her.

"Keep your head down, Hinata. Act as if you don't know me, okay? I'll explain later", Ino whispered quickly. Just as she finished, a hand touched her shoulder. She turned around to see Shikamaru look at her worriedly. Sasuke and Sakura stood behind him, clearly curious about her behaviour. Choji walked around the corner only to see his friends waiting at the door.

"Oi, Kakashi-sensei is always late. Why are you here this early? It's only ten past nine" he asked, making all the heads turn at him.

"Ino-pig just ran here, I don't know why. She's been acting weird since last week!" Sakura complained, still hanging onto Sasuke's arm. Now all the eyes turned to the blonde. Ino tried to think of something, but her musings were interrupter by a silent voice.

"I'm sorry, I tried to open the door to see if I was late.. In- she probably thought that the class had already started", Hinata said, her gaze locked to the ground. Lying wasn't a problem to her, especially to get a friend – or herself – out of throuble, but she _hated_ being the center of attention. On top of that, this blonde that was standing next to her was _not_ the Ino she knew.

'_Ino, what is going on?_'

"So you are one of the transfer students from Kunoichi", Shikamaru stated. The others had gotten used to his out-of-nowhere statements, but Hinata looked at him, surprised. "Yes, I'm Hyuga Hinata. How did you know?" she asked. Shikamaru shrugged, showing he didn't want to bother answering her question.

"So you are related to Hyuga Neji?" Sasuke asked though it sounded like a statement, not caring about the fact that the others, excluding Shikamaru and Hinata, looked at him weirdly. So what if he acted out of character and actually _spoke_? Hadn't they noticed that Ino had, in fact, ran to the door to tell the girl something and _not_ to check if the class had started?

'_Idiots_', he thought to himself, sharing a look with Shikamaru. They both had come to the same conclusion: Ino and the newbie had a history. And if the shy girl was Neji's relative.. things were going to become complicated.

"He is my cousin", Hinata answered, glancing at Sasuke. It seemed like the dark-haired boy was Konoha's heartthrob just as Ino has been Kunoichi's. She didn't notice the look on Choji and Sakura's faces. It was pure fear. Ino, though not terrified, tried to imitate them and succeeded. Yes, she _knew_ Neji could be dangerous.. especially if he ever found out what she had done to his cousin, but she had met him a couple of times and he didn't seem like he would kill just anyone without thinking twice. At least that was how he seemed to be near Hinata. Outside the Hyuga compound he had an entirely different reputation..

That was the moment their homeroom teacher decided to appear. To Hinata he looked like a young man trying to cosplay an old ninja – his hair was gray and he had a mask covering almost all of his face.

"What are you still doing here forehead-girl, your homeroom is next door" Ino said as Kakashi's students started to fill into the classroom. Pink-haired girl wrinkled her nose at the blonde but let go of Sasuke's arm. In a flash Ino had grabbed it and led the annoyed boy into the classroom. Hinata watched this with an unreadable look on her face.

Finally she stepped in only to find Kakashi-sensei with his feet on his desk, reading a book with orange cover. She immediately recognized the book as Icha Icha Paradise, the famous k-18 book that had been the favourite past-time reading at Kunoichi.

Happy to see something familiar, Hinata took a step closer to examine the cover more closely. She didn't notice the ruckus the students made nor the almost curious look a redhead gave her before going back to minding his own business.

**Icha Icha Distractions**

Hinata gasped, now right next to the teacher's table. "When did the new book come out?" she asked herself out loud. "Just yesterday. I lined two hours to get this", Kakashi-sensei answered, still reading. Hinata jumped backwards, finally noticing her actions. She blushed, embarrassed that she had showed unusual interest in the book which gave out the fact that she had read the series. To her surprise her sensei said nothing about it.

"Just sit somewhere. There isn't exactly anything to announce so this will be a free period", he said. Hinata, as a Hyuga, recognized the dismissal immediately and turned to look at the students gone wild. There was only one empty desk and it was next to a round boy she had seen talking to Ino and the gang outside the classroom. Hinata walked to him and gave a small smile.

"May I sit next to you?" she asked. The boy nodded, a small blush adoring his face. No-one ever _asked_ if they could sit next to him.. and if the seat was the only one available they would just complain about it to the teacher.

Hinata gave another smile to him and sat down to the desk on his left, next to the window. The boy looked at her for a while, contemplating if he should start a converstation. '_Might not be wise since she's Hyuga Neji's cousin, but she looks so lonely..'_. After a few minutes of silence from her part, he finally opened his mouth.

"I'm Akimichi Chouji", he introduced himself, looking at his desk.

'_Apparently he's shy..'_ Hinata thought. "I'm Hyuga Hinata. Nice to meet you Akimichi-san", she answered, looking straight into his eyes. She was glad that no-one paid any attention to them, otherwise she'd be a nervous wreck right now. She didn't want to leave a bad impression on the first person who made an effort to get to know her.

* * *

The bell signaled the end of the so-called class. Hinata and Chouji had talked the whole time about random things, but mostly about the differencs between japanese and korean cuisine. Chouji stood up as the other students started leaving and gave a smile to Hinata. She gave him one back and without a word he turned – only to find himself face-to-face with Ino. Before he had time to open his mouth or even blush at the sudden closeness, the blonde was already half-way her sentence.

"Could you tell Shika to meet me at the roof during lunch?" She asked quickly, as if wanting him gone already. "Yea, sure.." Chouji answered and walked past her. '_She could have asked him herself.._' he thought before exiting the classroom. He didn't notice that someone else was left in the classroom besides the blonde girl.

"I can't be seen with you. Meet Shikamaru on the roof during lunch, he'll give you something from me. It will explain everything. Okay?" Ino whispered, looking around her to make sure that they were alone. '_Well Kakashi-sensei is still here but he's so absorbed into that book of his that he didn't hear..'_ she thought to herself, walked to her desk to collect her notebook (she had written 'Uchiha Ino' all over the page as a crazy fangirl should) and pencils. She didn't notice the heartbroken look on her ex-lover's face.

'_Can't be seen with me? Ino, what happened to you.. to us?'_

* * *

(1) I'm just not comfortable with writing about characters I don't know well (in English: you won't be seeing Orochimaru around much..). Sure, I've seen Orochimaru in anime, but.. ugh. He's not my favourite...

**2367** .. yay ! does a happy-dance lalalah, over 2000 words..

P.S. a good reason to review and tell me all my mistakes, misspellings, strange choice of words, wrong idioms, etc.. And, of course, congratulate wide grin yay, so many words !


	4. Apart

_Chapter 3 – Apart (rewritten)_

* * *

'_Thank God it's over! I'm going to have to be careful not to spill _any _of those chemicals.._', Hinata though while half-running, half stumbling out of the Chemistry classroom. Orochimaru-sensei was the scariest teacher she had ever met! The scary hissing noise he made, the snake-like _gliding_ from one table to another.. but what really traumatized Hinata was the look of doom she got when she paired up with Sasuke (who didn't want a fangirl to his parter since all the other boys had partners already..). She thought she'd never get out of there alive.

The mass of students in the hallways was heading to the cafeteria. Hinata tried to walk to the other direction to search for the stairs leading to the roof but the flow of the hungry students was too strong. After a while she found herself lining up for the lunch.

'_This wasn't supposed to go like this, I have to meet the guy Ino told me about.._', she sighed and turned to try to resist the current which was getting weaker the closer she was to the pile of trays in the beginning of the official line.

Behind her stood a seething pink-haired girl. Hinata didn't want to get in her way – she really looked like she was ready to kill - so she quickly passed her to leave the cafeteria. To Hinata's misfortune, the girl turned her attention to her.

"Where are you going, newbie?" She asked, flipping her long hair. Hinata stopped. "I'm not really hungry", she lied and continued walking – or would have, if someone hadn't gripped her wrist. She turned to excuse herself from the girl only to see that it wasn't her who had forcefully taken her wrist.

"Shikamaru told me to show you where you can get to the roof", Sasuke, her Chemistry lab partter said and started to drag Hinata out of the cafeteria. "Sasuke-kun! Don't mind that newbie – " Sakura ran after them only to lose them in the mass of students.

* * *

The two walked in silence. The Uchiha had let go of her hand and was instead picking up the pace. Obviously he wanted to be on his way as soon as possible. _'Or to get away from me, the newbie who's weird enough to actually to wear the school uniform'_, Hinata thought to herself. She didn't notice the boy stop and almost ran into the door he had opened for her to go through. Blushing, Hinata quickly ran through the doorway only to be faced with a set of stairs.

"Go all the way up", the boy stated and turned to leave. Now that he wasn't nearly running or giving her murdeous looks she found her voice again.

"Thank you, um.." she waited for him to officially introduce himself like an Uchiha should – actually should have already in Chemistry - but instead he just shrugged (the boys of Konoha seemed to do that a lot) and walked away, leaving her all by herself. "Well seems like _someone_'s got a stick up his ass", Hinata muttered turning to look at the stairs.

Why did she have a feeling that it would take her a while to reach her destination?

* * *

Ino was nervous.

'_How will she take it? I hope Shkamaru doesn't read the note.. he isn't a genious for nothing. He'd find out, that's for sure.. Gosh, why didn't I go there myself?' _ She knew the answer. She couldn't.

To say things like she would have had to, to see Hinata's heartbroken expression.. and what if someone saw? They would put two and two together. Hinata and Ino's secret wasn't exactly one in their ex-school; the other transfers knew and probably would blabber their whole history to anyone who'd ask them.

From the corner of her eye she saw someone sit down to her right. A hand was placed onto her shoulder in a comforting manner. _Shikamaru._

No words were exchanged between the two. Sakura was chattering happily away, Chouji was too busy eating (and secretly watching Ino) to listen to her and Sasuke was staring off into space. Only one was missing from the gang.

"I'm back, -ttebayo!" A blond boy sat onto the empty seat on Ino's left. Sakura dismissed his greeting with a flick of her hair, giving a not-so-discreet look at Sasuke, who was – as always - ignoring her. Ino sighed. She couldn't ask Shikamaru how Hinata had taken the news with all the bothersome people around!

'_Oh great, I'm starting to sound like Shika... what's next, his hairdo?'_

Shikamaru sneezed. Choji was the only one to spare him a questioning look before turning back to what he was doing. Shikamaru gave Ino the _I-know-it-was-you_-look before handing her a note underneath the table.

The blonde ate her salad (yes, in order to be cool in a normal school girls _had_ to eat salad, all the salad and nothing but the salad) without any hurry. After a final gulp of water she excused herself, taking her tray – and the note which was tucked safely in her pocket – and leaving the cafeteria.

"I _said_ she's been acting weird! I'd know, she's my roommate after all. But did anyone listen? No! Except, of course, for Sasuke-kun, ne?"

* * *

She opened the door. Quiet sobbing was heard from one of the stalls but Ino had better things to do that find out who was the culprit of annoying her. The note Shikamaru had given her was still in her pocket. She slowly took it out and unfolded it. It wasn't from Shikamaru, after all. It was Hinata's handwriting.

'_Kunoichi Beauty,_

_I understand your reasoning. I would probably do what you are doing right now if I regretted what we had then.. But I don't. I didn't know you would feel differently. I hope your new life is worth it._

Kunoichi x'

Before Ino had the time to rub her eyes to stop the tears from flowing, a stall door to the far right corner opened. The blonde turned away, not wanting the other girl see her like this.. She was Yamanaka Ino, the popular girl #2 after all. The other girl turned the water on. Ino was trying her best to dry her tears unnoticed.The tap was turned off.

They stood there, letting the other have the peace they needed. The silence was something comforting and, to them, lasted for a small eternity.

The bathroom door was banged open and the popular girl #1 stepped in.

"Ino, we've been looking all over for you! We need to order the drinks for tonight's party from the upperclassmen during luch break which is – yea, right _now_. If you want anything to drink you'd better come", Sakura said, pointing an accusing finger at the blonde. Her eyes soon found another victim to take her bad mood out on.

"You, newbie, what are you doing here? Get out now when you can run with those chubby legs of yours! Idiot, showing your ugly face around me.. "

Ino felt her heart stop. Was Sakura talking about.. Hinata?

"Ha-hai, Haruno-san" a quiet voice said behind the Kunoichi Beauty. The said blonde turned around – to face her former best friend, her confidant, her – _'Stop! It's in the past. She's over me. I'm over her. This is the way we're meant to be.. _apart_'_. Hinata had been crying: her eyes were puffy and red and there still were tears streaking down her cheeks.

'_This is how you wanted it, Ino, remember it. Don't pity her. Don't love her. You don't want to know how she looked when she read your note.._'

* * *

1267 words. I'd appreciate if you told me what you think.


	5. Of Notes And Arranged Marriages

_Chapter 4 – Of Notes And Arranged Marriages (rewritten)_

* * *

_**Flashback (Hinata)**_

She finally got to the top, and was standing in front of a door that led to the roof. Did she _really _want to know what Ino had in store for her? Did she want to face the truth: that her best friend, her confidant, her lover didn't want her anymore? A shaking hand twisted the doorknob.

It was sunny outside.

* * *

"Oi, you there".

She hadn't took but two steps when she heard a voice above. She turned to the voice and saw a boy with a strange pineapple-like hairdo sitting on the edge of the roof of the small cubicle which contained the stairs. Hinata herself was standing on the roof which was, in reality, flat and topped with floor tiling.

The boy hopped off and onto the roof right in front of her. She recognized him as the one who had known she was from Kunoichi earlier that day, before the homeroom class started. Of course, she had heard rumours about him: that in reality he was 15 years old but had been moved up a year because of his intelligence. Rumours had it that he could be even studying in an University if he only made an effort in the exams. Mostly he just slept through those and ended up having the worst grade in class.

"I don't know what Ino wants with you but obviously it's something she doesn't want anyone else to find out since she sent _me_ here.. If you tell me what the two of you are hiding I can promise I won't speak of it again to you or anyone else."

Great, another thing the Konoha boys did: state. Couldn't they be more gentleman-like, like in the _Icha Icha Paradise_?! Almost an unrecognizable glare was shot at him. What a rude boy. How come Ino had decided to hang out with _him_?

But.. did she want him to know her secret? Ino acted like she didn't want anyone to know and this boy, _'Nara Shikamaru_' Hinata reminded herself, promised not tell. She knew she would feel better after telling someone, _anyone, _about it, so she nodded. She hoped that Ino – or anyone else for that matter – wouldn't found out.

Shikamaru let out a sigh of relief. '_Now I don't have to bother to solve this one. It would have been too troublesome for so early in the day..'_, (A/N: yes, he considers the luch break early) he thought and gave the silent girl the note Ino had written. He observed her expression as she read the note.

To his dissapointement, her face didn't show any emotions.

'_Kunoichi x,_

_When I transferred half a year ago I decided to start over. Things are different here, this isn't an all-girls' school you know.. To make it seem like I was normal I had to fit in. This is my new life. If anyone knew about us, it would be blown apart. It's time we end the game, anyway. '_

There wasn't a signature, but Hinata could have recognized the handwriting anywhere.

_The Kunoichi Beauty._

The note slipped from her hands, but she didn't notice. Her mask of indifference cracked slightly. She knew she would have cried if she was alone. But because she was raised 'the Hyuga way', her instincts kicked in before she could feel moisture gather in her eyes. She wouldn't cry.

She _couldn't_ cry.

Shikamaru picked up the note and quickly scanned through it. '_This looks like a..'_ he took a quick look at the now pale girl in front of him before gazing back at the piece of paper in his hands, '_..a break-up note_'.

Hinata woke up from her trance only to find the note gone. She looked at her hands where it had been only seconds – no, was it minutes? – ago. Slowly she looked up at the boy. He had the note and a questioning look in his eyes. He wanted answers.

And so she told him.

_**End of flashback (Hinata)**_

* * *

Later that night

Ino took a hesistant sip of her bottle. She still hadn't gotten used to the liquor's bitter taste. She was sitting on a huge, comfortable sofa, watching Sakura try to make a move on Sasuke. Good thing the dark-haired boy wasn't _too_ drunk or he would have been raped by the pink-haired teen long ago. The only reason none of the other fangirls weren't all over him was the occasional murderous look Sakura shot at them. Since she was the fangirl #1, she had the priviledge of the first try. No-one complained – to her at least – that her turn had already lasted six years.

Shikamaru sat down next to the pondering blonde, holding his own bottle of beer. Ino was glad he was with her. He was the only one she didn't have to put her act on, he already knew everything.

_´Hinata must have told him... damn that softie. Though he would have gotten the hang of it eventually'_ she thought. The regret that was growing inside her was giving her a headache.

The 'living room' was full of students. It was the only place the teachers didn't dare to come; the headmistress had declared it as the students' area for them to do what they wanted. No need to mention, just the night before the woman's declaration a teacher had almost been killed by a drunken student. The student had been expelled of course, but none of the school staff wanted to fear for their life, so it was a common agreement to let the students have a zone for their weekly 'relaxation'.

Ino sighed. She had tried, at the beginning of the so-called party, to put on her normal act but had failed. As soon as the alcohol had gotten into her system she had gotten depressed, most likely because of Hinata. That damn idiot had shown her tear-stained face in front of the blonde who now couldn't get it out of her head.

"Why is this being normal thing so important to you?" Shikamaru suddenly asked, gazing at another blonde on the other side of the room. Ino turned to look at the same direction and saw Sabaku Temari, the girl she sometimes despised even more than Sakura. Why, you ask? The girl was loud, annoying bitch.

And yeah, she was Shikamaru's fucking _fiancée_. Not that Ino liked the lazy boy, no way. Shikamaru was her friend, her only support in Konoha.. and Temari was there to take him away from her. No-one even knew how, when or _why_ the two were involved. Was it a family matter? Anyways, Shikamaru was someone Ino cared about. Sasuke was, for the lack of a better word, a thing she pretended to like for the sake of annoying Sakura. Even if Ino liked Sasuke, the pink-haired girl was no real opponent with her crazy fangirl nature. Temari on the other hand.. though Shikamaru didn't show it – in public anyway – Ino had the feeling that he really cared about the older girl. Why would he otherwise be with her?

"Dunno", Ino finally answered, still giving murdeous looks at the other girl. The brunet boy – being a genious - knew the converstation was over. She was being more angsty than he had _ever_ seen her and angsty girls were even _more_ troublesome than crying ones. So he left.

Ino dropped her head to her hands, ignoring the fact that her actions caused her bottle fall to the floor and shatter into many, sharp pieces of glass. Only one, Chouji, took notice of this. He was making his way to her to try to cheer her up but she was up and gone in a blink of an eye.

When Ino passed Temari to get to the door and out of the suffocating room, she almost ran into Temari's brothers. The first one, Kankuro, in all his glory (A/N: i.e. facepaint) just ran past her to his sister, obviously happy about something. The second one, angsty Gaara, nodded to Ino in acknowledgement (they were in the same class after all) and followed his older brother.

Ino continued making her way out. Just before the door closed behind her she could hear Temari yell "You _WHAT_!?".

* * *

1369 words.


	6. Rules, WHAT rules?

_Chapter 5 – What Rules?!_

* * *

**About twenty minutes earlier, in the girls' dormitory**

Hinata was tired. She had just finished her homework in the library and was climbing up yet _another_ set of stairs in the girls' dormitory to get to her room – which, to throw fuel on the fire, was on the top floor.

'_Just my luck.. My best friend doesn't want to see me, I'm tired from crying and doing an illegal amount of homework, the school is _all stairs_, the elevator of the girls' dorm is _broken_ and my room is on the top floor...'_ Inwardly she cursed. This was worse than her father's training! Well, _almost_ – at least she could stop at any point she wanted and rest here, while at home she would just have to train until her legs gave way.

Finally, half dead, she stood in front of the room 571.

She took a deep breath and stepped in only to find the room void of human beings. Or anything else alive, if you didn't count the week-old plate half-full of leftover steak. Hinata frowned to herself: she was certain that the plate hadn't been there last night..

Then the bathroom door opened. Hinata turned and saw a girl with four ponytails and a very short uniform-like skirt. Hinata couldn't help but blush at the sight in front of her.. the girl didn't have a shirt on, only a bra.

"Oh sorry, you must be my new roommate!" The blonde girl exclaimed and extended her hand for Hinata to shake. "I'm Sabaku Temari. Just call me Temari: Sabaku-sama is my bro and Sabaku-san is too formal." Hinata almost forgot the manners when Temari said that _her brother_ was called Sabaku-sama.

'_Great, is he some kind of underground ruler? Well, good thing I've dealed with those before..'_

But of course, being Hinata, she caught herself in time and smiled at the girl."I'm Hyuga Hinata", she introduced herself – only to see Temari's jaw drop to the floor.

"_You're_ the cousin?"

Obviously the fact that yes, she was related to Neji, had spread through the school like a wildfire. Hinata inwardly sighed. What kind of person _was_ Neji outside the Hyuga compounds to earn such a widespread reputation?

"I'm in a hurry so I'll go through the rules quickly", Temari said clearly forgetting the awkward silence her earlier statement had caused.

"First: I come and go as I please. You should do the same." '_Okay, what happened to the _rules_?'_ Hinata thought but stayed silent.

"Second: Put the 'do not disturb' note on the doorknob if you're having male – or why not female – quests." '_.. quests? Does she mean like.. boyfriends or something?'_

"Third: Follow the rule two no matter what. My two brothers have the keys and they'll barge in if the note isn't there. And sometimes even if it is."

'_.. what kind of brothers does she have? Sounds like they're stalkers or something..'_

"Fourth and the most important if you want to keep your life: no touching my stuff, ok? Not even for cleaning. Even that plate over there", the blonde pointed at the fly-attracter I'm-a-week-old-stake, "has a purpose. So no matter what the situation, stay out of my domain and I'll stay out of yours. Capiche?" Hinata could only nod. Temari had looked at her with an evil gleam in her eyes while stating the last rule.

'_She makes it sound like the plate saved her life or something..'_

The blonde grinned widely and went to her 'domain' – the messier one – and rummaged through the mess on her bed, obviously looking for her shirt. Hinata slowly approached her own bed, expecting a crazy brother of Temari's to jump from under the bed and yell: 'boo!!'.

Nothing happened, and Hinata dropped her school bag next to the make bed. The clock was ten past nine and she hoped to have a good night's sleep, even though the next day would be Saturday, the official hang-over day.

Temari found her shirt and put it on before hastily grabbing a white purse from a random area of her bed.

"Well I'm off! You coming?" She asked, her hand on the doorknob. Hinata's answer, however, made her freeze.

"Where?"

Temari slowly turned around to face the clueless transfer student. She walked to the girl, leaning down so their faces were only inches apart. Hinata blushed. The last time someone was this close to her, she had ended up with swollen lips and short of a bra.

"You really haven't heard of it?" Temari asked, leaning even closer. Hinata could feel the older girl's breath on her face but was unable to move: she had been trapped between the intimidating girl and her bed. "N-no.." she whispered, blushing even more. Temari quickly pulled away, leaving Hinata breathless.

"Well, are you coming or not? You probably don't have anything to drink considering you were kept in the dark, but you can have some of mine". By Temari's offer she knew it was a drinking party. Yay. (A/N: can you hear the dripping sarcasm?) Last time Hinata had been to one she had ended up somewhere else than she should have.

.. let's just say that drunken Hinata could get _very_ affectionate. Or violent, which was rare but still a possibility.

"Thank you for the offer Temari-san, but I think it would be best if I stayed here.. we have a quiz coming up in Chemistry on Monday morning." She knew that Temari could see through her lie but she had to say _something_ in her defence, so that she wouldn't have to tell the reason for her reluctance to consume alcohol. In the near future at least. The blonde just shrugged. "Suit yourself", she said and left.

Hinata sat down on her bed. Her face was still reddish due to the other girl. Didn't she realize that she was _hot_ wearing that dark blue tubetop and black skirt? '_And definitely hot _without_ the top..'_ Hinata gasped at what she was thinking. Did she shave some kind of roommate-syndrome? Ino had been her roommate, and now..

'_And again Ino. Just stop thinking about her!'_

"Damn I'm pathetic", she muttered to herself. Forgetting all about the rules she started to undress while looking for her pajamas under the blanket and pillow (she had put them there in the morning). She finally found her pajamas, quickly took off her shirt and skirt and started folding them. She didn't hear the door open.

"So.. should I pay before or after the show?"

* * *

1077


	7. Naruto

_A/N:_ White Heron, please be patient with me ; Neji will come .. not too soon, but in a while. Before that comes more information about Hinata, Gaara, Ino, and the whole Kunoichi incident. And thank you, again, ALL OF YOU, for reviewing. I was so happy when I received 2 comments so soon after chapter 6 !_  
_

_Chappie 6 - Naruto_

* * *

"So.. should I pay before or after the show?" 

Hinata instinctively turned to the door. A boy few years older than her was leaning on the doorway, leering at her. She paled. The situation immediately brought memories from a little over a year ago - with a little twist..

A meaningful couch woke her up from her reverie.

Hinata eeped and sat on her bed, intending to sheld her body from the boy's eyes by pulling her legs up to her chin - but as soon as she was seated, she felt strage tingling in her body. Yes, her father had taught her well. She couldn't stop herself from quickly rising up again.

'_Always stand up when a superior or a quest arrives. It shows respect and gives the impression you're not intimidated by them'_ was what her father used to say.

The boy rose one eyebrow. Hinata blushed deep red and quickly pulled the nearest thing – her bed cover – to cover her exposed body. The silence, to Hinata, seemed to last an eternity when in reality it lasted only a few seconds. Another person walked in. Hinata remembered the redhead vaguely. He was in her homeroom class.

The newcomer stopped at the sight. He hit the boy who had been leering at Hinataa at the back of his head, muttered something and turned around. The abused boy gave her an apologizing look.

"Ehh, sorry for barging in.. we'll be waiting outside" he said and followed the redhead out of the room. For a few moment Hinata just stood there, her face still red.

"What the hell?"

Eventually she put her uniform on. She opened the door to find the boys in a silent converstation. Before she could open her mouth, the one with purple facepaint already barged in.

"So you're Temari's new roommate?"

Hinata blinked at the boy's I-just-totally-forgot-what-happened-a-few-minutes-earlier attitude before her father's teachings kicked in.

"Ha-hai, I'm Hyuga Hinata. It's a pleasure to meet you.." she congratulated herself on almost-not-stuttering. The boy _had_ seen her only in her underwear so she would have every reason to be nervous around him – if she wasn't a Hyuga, that is.

Silence filled the room. Before it got too uncomfortable, however, the older of the brothers decided to speak.

"I'm Sabaku Kankuro. The angst redhead is my brother Gaara", the facepaint-boy introduced. Hinata gave them both a small smile, "Temari-san told me about you. She _did_ advice me to put a note on the door but I .. kind of forgot". Kankuro grinned.

"I didn't mind much.."

Hinata almost shivered in – disgust or pleasure? She _had_ kind of liked the attention, but the boy grinning at her was not a least bit good-looking. Not with the facepaint, anyway. (A/N: don't get me wrong, I love Kankuro. His facepaint.. I want it gone though.)

"Ah, anyway.. were you looking for Temari-san? She left about five minutes ago to the.. party, I quess you'd call it." Hinata didn't expect Kankuro's reaction. He gasped loudly, grabbing her hands into his (he had somehow gotten a bit _too_close for Hinata's comfort).

"You mean.. you didn't know? It's the biggest party – minus the one before summer holiday – on the whole campus!" Now, Hinata wasn't stupid. She just didn't understand why Kankuro would refer the dorms as 'campus' – unless the Konoha Private School had it's own college too.

'_.. I didn't know Konoha had _that_ many students.. So Temari-san and Kankuro-san are in the college?'_

Kankuro waved his hand in front of her face. She blinked once. Twice. The she remembered that he had asked her a question. A faint blush of embarrasment rose to her cheeks. She took her hands back to herself and took a step backwards.

"I'm sorry, got lost in thoughts.. no, I found out when Temari-san told me. She asked me to come but we have Orochimaru-sensei's test on Monday .." Hinata congratulated herself on remembering the same excuse she had used on Temari. But seeing one of Gaara's non-existent eyebrows rise she noticed her mistake: he was in the same Chemistry. The redhead didn't comment, however, and Hinata was safe.

'_For now at least..'_

* * *

The brothers had left an hour ago but still Hinata couldn't fall asleep. She couldn't get rid of the images her encounter with Kankurou had brought into her mind. Memories.. of him. 

**Flashback (a year ago)  
**

"Hinata, get off of me. They will notice something's wrong.." Ino muttered, prying the shorter girl's hands from her arm. Hinata tried to use her puppylook but failed. She was too drunk to concentrate on anything – except on Ino. The blonde however seemed to be more interested on her image than Hinata. Obviously she didn't want the guys they had ran into earlier to know about her and Hinata's relationship.

"Something the matter?" the one with brown hair asked. He had introduced himself as Inuzuka Kiba, 'the king of puppies'. When the girls had joined the group he had had trouble standing. Now he was lying on the grass, staring at the stars. Ino quickly sat beside him, leaving Hinata alone standing with two other boys, Aburame Shino and Uzumaki Naruto.

She tried to talk to the boys, she really did, but Shino seemed to be deaf to everything else than bugs (yes, he had taken two of his pet-bugs with him) and Naruto – he was in his own world of Ramen and a girl named Sakura.

Hinata sighed.

She wanted to go home. Ino had tried to ditch her since they had run into the boys, it was getting cold and she wanted Ino to herself. Yes, Hinata was possessive. And when drunk, she tended to be intimate – or extremely violent.

"Sakura-chan", Naruto sighed and sat down. Shino had disappeared somewhere so Hinata sat down next to the blond boy. She tentatively put her hand on his shoulder in a comforthing manner – he looked as depressed as Hinata felt. To her surprise, he didn't push her away.

"Thanks, Hinata-chan."

The dark-haired girl blushed slightly. They had known only a few hours and he was calling her Hinata-chan, something that Ino did only when they were alone.

'And again with Ino. Just stop thinking about her! She obviously has forgotten you..' Hinata thought, glancing at the blonde who was beating the ground in laugher. Kiba grinned like an idiot; apparently he had told a joke.

"You like Kiba?"

Hinata frowned at Naruto's question. Of course she didn't like Kiba! How had he gotten that impression?

"You looked at them with jealousy. I know that feeling.."

Hinata's mouth formed a small 'o'. She then smiled at him sadly and shook her head. She so much wanted to tell about Ino and herself, wanted to shout it for everyone to hear –

"No, I like Ino. A lot. She doesn't want anyone else to know. We're kind of an item at Kunoichi", Hinata said before comprehending it herself. Naruto's eyes widened. First Hinata thought he was going to yell it in surprise, embarrassing Ino - she moved to try to stop him – but soon noticed a boyish grin on his cute face. She blushed.

"Now I get it why you were so possessive of her earlier.. It seems like she's flirting with Kiba, though", the blond stated, looking at her with – was that pity? Hinata shook her head. She was probably imaging it. After all, he had his own problems to mull over.

Suddenly she felt an arm around her shoulders. She looked up to his face to see his eyes closed, a small, sad smile gracing his lips. To her surprise she didn't feel heat rise up her cheeks. She wasn't blushing! (A/N: it's probably the alcohol in her system..) She felt warm all over: he had pulled her closer. Hinata rested her hear on his shoulder. She was getting a little sleepy, she was so comfortable..

Hinata felt cold lips on hers.

**End of flashback (back to the present) **

She had no memory what had happened after, only that she had woken up in a strange room – his room to be exact. And moreover she had been stark naked. So to what conclusion would anyone come to?

She heard someone try to open the door. Muffled curses could be heard from the other side. Slowly Hinata rose from her bed and opened the door slightly.

A very drunken Temari stood there, trying to find her keys from her small handbag. Finally, after finding the keys she noticed Hinata. Before the smaller girl could move, Temari had launched herself into the sober girl.

"Hinata-chan! I heard what Kankuro did. Sorry sorry sorry! He's ugly and pervy – no, what was it – pervertyish.. yea, something like that! I heard he saw you in your underwear! Sorry. But you know, the note might have stopped him.. Oi, why is there a week-old-dinner on my desk?"

Hinata just stood rooted on the spot when Temari staggered towards the innocent plate that she had threatened Hinata to leave alone.

The Hyuga blinked. She was getting sleepy now that Temari had interrupted her walk down the memory lane. She yawned and walked to her bed to go back to sleep, only to find Temari in it.

"Sorry, Temari-san.. that's my bed", Hinata said, too tired to speak in her usual I-don't-want-to-impose tone. Obviously the older blonde got the hint. Muttering things to herself, Temari made her way to her own bed and was out in a matter of seconds. Hinata laid down on hers.

Just before falling asleep his face popped into her head.

_'Naruto-kun...'_

* * *

1590. I'm quite proud of myself xD 

And yeah, about the flashback. Both Hinata and Ino were still studying in Kunoichi. During a friday night (you know what I mean xD) they meet some random guys (Kiba, Shino, Naruto). Ino isn't exactly ready to tell the whole word that she's with Hinata, so she tries to keep it a secret by shunning Hinata (who, in Ino's opinion, was getting too intimate). Hinata -naturally xD - gets jealous when Ino goes to Kiba. Naruto sees this, and both being drunk and depressive, they end up in his home. End of the story xP. Sorry if it was confusing.. it all seems so clear in my head that I forget to write down the important bits, leaving you confused.. Gomen !

About 3 of 4 reviews this time, please. I try not to update too often xD.

And, if you have any suggestions, please tell me! After Neji's entrance I'm quite out of ideas.. but don't worry, he makes his first appearance in 12th chapter xDD


	8. Not Interested

_Chapter 7 – Not Interested_

* * *

**The next morning**

When Hinata woke up, Temari was already dressed. The younger girl had to blink twice before she could believe her eyes. The blonde was wearing a formal-looking black skirt suit!

"Temari-san, what – "

"You're awake! Have you seen the plate with the steak and all?" Temari asked, rummaging through her side of the room. Hinata sat up in surprise. 'The fly-attracter week-old-dinner?' The older girl turned to the now fully awake roommate of hers, panic evident in her face. That sobered Hinata up.

"O-oh, the plate! I saw it last night, but I guess you threw it out or something.. I'll help look for it" she offered, not able to look at the other girl's eyes. 'That look will haunt me in my nightmares...'

When Hinata stood up, she felt something.. squishy under her foot. Slowly she turned to look – "Yuck!" she exclaimed in surprise and withdrew her foot away from the plate. Temari quickly turned to see the abused old dinner next to Hinata's bed.

"Thank you! Oh gosh,I'm late so late! See you later, Hinata!" The blonde said while grabbing the plate and running out of the door. Hinata stared after her, at the left-open door.

A minute later she decided to close it, for her own safety (she didn't want Kankuro to run in again). Muttering incoherent things she walked to the door to close it – only to find someone on the other side.

Hinata had the decency to blush: after all, she was wearing duck-covered pyjamas.. and the fact that the boy standing in front of her was the Konoha Genious himself.

"U-um.. ca- can I help you?" she finally got out. The pineapple-hairdo stared at her attire for another two seconds, then cleared his throat. He quickly turned to look up, at her face. Hinata couldn't help but blink – was he blushing? Then she felt a slight breeze coming from the room's open window – wait, when had Temari opened it? – in somewhere she shouldn't have felt it. Her eyes largened and she quickly pulled the pyjama jacket close. Probably she had tossed and turned while sleeping and most of the buttons had somehow gotten undone..

Shikamaru finally got a hold of himself and the blush faded. He cleared his throat again, to break the uncomfortable silence.

"Is Temari in?"

"A-actually she left few minutes ago.. I don't know where but I quess you could call her – if you have her number that is – though she seemed to be in a hurry" Hinata quickly cut her blabbering after realizing that the boy would think even less of her.

"Yea I know, I was supposed to pick her up.. oh well, see you around" he said and turned to leave. Hinata got a flashback of Kankuro's attitude after seeing her in only her underwear. Inwardly she sighed.

"Is my body that dismissable?" she thought at loud before closing the door.

Shikamaru thanked the gods above that no-one else was up.

He needed a cold shower.

* * *

After the incident with Shikamaru, Hinata got ready to go to the cafeteria for a late breakfast. To her utter disbelief, it was full. 'How can they all be up this early on hang-over day?' she wondered and lined up. Not a second later the doors opened again and in came a group of students.

'Just my luck', Hinata thought as Sakura lined up right after her – holding tight on Sasuke's arm.

"Where's Shika?" Ino asked, looking around them. She spotted Hinata and froze, but only for a second. She quickly turned to a blond behind her. Hinata turned away too. So deep in thought, she didn't recognize the blond boy's voice.

"He's with Temari I think. Something about Gaara's another trial.. No, look, he just came in - hey Sasuke-teme, let go of Sakura!"

Ignoring the fight going on behind her, Hinata chose a tuna toast, a bottle of water and an apple as her breakfast. After paying she turned to look at the tables, hoping to find a seat – in vain.

"Make room!" Sakura screamed and pushed past Hinata to the table furthest away. Had not someone grabbed her arm, she would have dropped her tray due to the pink haired girl's strong push.

"You alright, Hinata-chan?"

The indigo-haired girl looked up and saw Kankuro with his .. perverted smile. He took her free hand in his and dragged her to the nearest table. Shooing a random girl away he sat her on the 'vacant' seat.

"Y-yea, thank you, Kankuro-san", she greeted him with a small, nervous smile.

"No need to be so shy, Hinata-chan!" Kankuro grinned, sitting down next to her. He was about to put his hand casually on her shoulders when someone coughed behing them. The facepainter turned to look at the disturber.

"She's not interested, nii-san."

Hinata swirled around on her seat and came face to face with Gaara. She quickly stood up and bowed in greeting, "Ohayo, Gaara-san". This caused both boys to look at her strangely. Hinata blushed and sat back on her seat.

"I- um.."

"It's alright, Hinata-chan. Hyugas have strange rules of behaviour, no point in blaming you-" Kankuro stated, but quieted down after seeing Gaara's glare. It clearly meant that he had said something improper. Sometimes Kankuro wondered how his little brother had gained a sense of etiquettte, living with Temari and himself..

"Teme!"

This time Hinata glanced up at the voice – just in time to dodge a full tray of Ramen. Only Kankuro and Gaara paid attention, probably because they had been nearly hit too. Then something caught Hinata's eyes.

Blond hair and an orange shirt.

Her eyes widened in shock, and stood up without noticing it herself. The older Sabaku asked what was wrong with her, but she didn't hear – couldn't hear him.. because in front of her stood the man whom she had lost her innocence to.

_"Na-Naruto-kun?"_

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**981**


	9. Fallacy

_Chapter 8 –A Fallacy_

* * *

"Na-Naruto-kun?"

Her silent, trembling voice ended the fight between the blond and Sasuke. They both turned to look at her. Sasuke was clearly annoyed at the sight of her but Naruto – he just stared at her for a minute. Then slowly, if just recognizing her, he took a step closer to her. A huge grin appeared on his face.

"Hinata-chan!!"

The Hyuga didn't even try to dodge his embrace. She tried to keep her cool, but her cheeks went pink. Well, at least she didn't faint! Though she felt a bit dizzy.. Naruto leaned closer to whisper in her ear.

"I thought I'd never see you again.."

"You know each other?" Ino had somehow gotten over the shock of seeing them hugging – 'he doesn't have the right to do that!' – and walked closer, breaking their embrace as her purpose. Clearly she wasn't the only one annoyed, for Sakura glared at Hinata with all hatred she could muster – the newbie had stolen her fanboy, after all. Kankuro too was relieved when Naruto let go of now tomato-red Hinata.

"Gosh it's been a long time since we saw each other!"

"I-it's great to see you, Naruto-kun.." Hinata stuttered, looking down at her feet. She didn't notice him faking a confused look.

"You mean, to see me or.." he first pointed at his face, then down at his midsection. That got Hinata's attention: she quickly turned to look up at his face, furiously trying to keep herself from fainting. Last time they met, Naruto hadn't been as.. easygoing as he was now. And not even nearly as perverted!

What the pair didn't realize was that four other people knew what Naruto had meant:

Finally Shikamaru understood why they talked like they were close (A/N: "-chan" and "–kun") though no-one from the "gang" – apart from Ino, of course – knew Hinata. Something.. intimate had happened between them.

Sasuke was a bit.. embarrassed by the way he had treated Hinata earlier. She was Naruto's girlfriend, right? At least his comment gave that idea.. But the damn dobe hadn't told him, so how could he have known?

Outwardly Gaara seemed indifferent..

A shock took over Ino. When could Hinata and Naruto have been.. together? Hinata always told her everything, and she had never mentioned a guy..

"Y-you, of course!" Hinata answered quickly while imperceptibly glancing at others, wondering if they had figured out the relationship between Naruto and herself. She noticed the dark look on Ino's face – 'why should she care? – and the knowing look of Shikamaru.

' .. great. Now he thinks I'm a whore or something..'

"Hinata-chan, you okay? You spaced out for a while", Naruto said, waving a hand in front of her face. The Hyuga blinked, then automatically moved to bow an apology. The blond didn't quite get it, though: last time Hinata had bowed was to thank him for walking her home. That had been the moment when Neji decided to show up. Inwardly Naruto shuddered, remembering his first meeting with the overprotective cousin.

"Baka, introduce her to us!" Sakura said angrily, demanding for attention. No matter how good friends this newbie and her fanboy were, she was going to break them up – no matter what. Haruno Sakura didn't like to share.

It wasn't a huge change, but Hinata could see it: just being talked at by Sakura, Naruto seemed much more.. happy. Hinata knew she shouldn't be jealous: Sakura had known Naruto longer than she had, and the relationship between the blond and herself had been purely sexual.. so no, she wasn't jealous.

"Sure! Guys, this is Hinata, Hinata-chan, this is everybody. From left, the teme Sasuke –" Hinata saw the corner of the raved-haired boy's eye twitch. She moved to stop Naruto (after all, she knew their names already) but he kept going on.

".. Sasuke-crazy Ino, my Sakura-chan and the lazy guy is Shikamaru" he finished. Again, the Hyuga teachings kicked in and Hinata bowed, "Nice to meet you all". The formality surprised everyone else but Gaara who had dealed a lot with people from higher class – and, of course, with those who acted like they were more important.

'Damn, after such a formal greeting I can't call her newbie anymore...' Sakura thought. Instead of frowning she smiled sweetly and extended her hand for a shake – only to grip Hinata's hand as hard as she could. The new girl didn't show any signs of pain – hell, not even her polite smile faded! Dissapointed, Sakura took her hand back.

A heavy silence fell: Ino refused to talk to Hinata, Sakura was still silently seething, Shikamaru was left to wonder about the triangle of Ino, Hinata and Naruto, Sasuke didn't give a damn, Chouji had been eating at the table all the time, Kankuro had gotten bored and left and Gaara was still glaring at Naruto who clearly saw something was wrong but didn't know what to do about it.

"A-ano.. I'm sorry, but I still have a lot of homework to do.. Please excuse me", Hinata said, not able to stand the oppressive silence. She nodded her goodbyes, turned quickly and left, leaving her uneaten meal at the table.

"I don't like her", Ino said as soon as they Hyuga was out of the earshot. Imperceptible frown appeared on Shikamaru's face: was the blonde trying to keep the secret by shunning Hinata?

"Me neither, she's got no backbone at all. Now that my meal is ruined, why won't we grab something to eat at Ichiraku's?" Sakura suggested, eager to get Naruto's thoughts off of Hinata. Her plan seemed to work, for she didn't have time to blink before the ramen-inhaler was already dragging her towards the cafeteria exit.

"Dinner's on you, teme!" he yelled at Sasuke before disappearing in a flash. Sasuke silently cursed after noticing that, indeed, his wallet was gone.

In the midst of the hassle, Gaara left the room unnoticed.

* * *

"Stupid Hinata", the Hyuga scolded herself. Once again she had had to get into a situation like that – oppressive silence, people hating her, her giving up and leaving.. well, at least she hadn't given Sakura the satisfaction of seeing her wince in pain at the 'handshake'. She looked at her right hand, it still hurt. The pink-haired popular girl and Sasuke fan #1 was strong, Hinata gave her that.

Still, she had had enough exitement for one day and was ready to take a nap, if not sleep for hours. First waking up to see the frantic and anguished face of her roommate, then the embarrassing Nara incident, meeting Naruto and gaining a group of enemies – influental enemies. She needed sleep. Or rather, right now, she wouldn't have minded one drink either..

Hinata woke up from her musings when she hear footsteps nearing her. She slightly turned her head and saw Gaara right behind her. Surprised, she turned fully around and greeted him. His lack of response made her frown. Had he no manners at all?

"What really happened?"

At first Hinata thought he meant how she had met Naruto, but his dark look confirmed it a fallacy.

"Wh-what do you mean, Gaara-san?"

Apparently that was a wrong answer.

"The press stopped informing about it, but the judicial investigation is going on stronger than ever. Why haven't they interrogated you yet?"

This was another moment when Hinata felt stupid, the first one was when one of the Sabaku siblings was talking about campus instead of dormitory.. Was it always going to be like this with them? An annoyed sigh returned her back to earth.

"The blow-up of Kunoichi All Girls' School", he finally said, observing her reaction. Panic was obvious on her face.'Got you', Gaara thought when he saw Hinata try to calm down.

"W-what a-about it?" she finally got out, avoiding eye contact with him. She didn't intend on anyone finding out about her involvement in the happenings – ever. So where had he gotten the information? How had he figured out that she still hadn't been interrogated? Was he suspecting _she _was the brain behind the whole incident?

_'Why is he even interested in the case?!'_

In the surge of emotion she didn't notice that Gaara was closing in on her.

* * *

**1371**


	10. What Really Happened That Night

_Chapter 9 – What Really Happened That Night_

* * *

His hot breath on her face woke her up from her thoughts.

"The first bomb was in the kitchens.. you were the only one up that night, Hinata, and you were there half an hour before it went off."

Hinata tried her best not to panic. Gaara had her trapped between him and the wall. She knew he was dangerous, the dark aura was drowning her, slowly..

"I- It w-was a co-coincidence.. that night, I was.. I went there to.. to fetch a knife.." she stuttered, fear kicking in full force. He had a concealed weapon, she was sure. If someone – anyone – would walk by.. no, not just anyone. A teacher. Someone with authority. Someone with power that she lacked.

Luck wasn't on her side that day.

"The judge might have bought your lies about committing suicide, but I know better. You were going to use it to carve out the hearts of –"

"Stop it!" Hinata screamed, covering her ears with her hands. She was shaking, and tears that she had decided long ago not to show anyone, started to cascade down her face. When, why, how was he able to see through her? Through her mask of Hyuga Hinata into her aching heart.. her lonely soul.. her hatred..

"The explosions and the fire would have destroyed any evidence that would have pointed at you.. the plan was perfect. What went wrong that night?"

She heard him. The cold tone had turned into something else.. what it was, she didn't know. She had to answer, however: he hadn't backed away, not even an inch and she found it hard to breathe. One wrong move and he could strangle or suffocate her.. At that moment she noticed how close they were. A small blush creeped up to her face.

"C-could y-you.. a-ano, I-I can't.. breathe.."

* * *

_'Hyuga Hinata, 16 years old heiress to an influental family. Ino's ex-girlfriend, at some point had an intimate relationship with Naruto. Shy, quiet, not outwardly troublesome.. or then she's hiding something. And her reason for transferring here is quite strange too.. it's not very common for schools to just suddenly blow up. And everyone's blaming the Gaara guy for it. Again. When will they get it that just because he's a Sabaku doesn't mean he's quilty of every crime committed in this city?'_

* * *

"What went wrong that night?" his tone was gentle this time. She looked at him: he seemed a lot calmer now, maybe because they were in his room. The door was locked, his roommate kicked out just a minute ago.

They were behind closed doors..

Just the thought made her feel safe again. Only he knew, and he wouldn't rat her out, he had promised. Well, more like he threatened to tell if she didn't cooperate with him.

So she did.

"After placing the.. incendiary devices and timing them right, I went back to the dorms with the knife. I – I headed to Makichi Karin's room. Sh-she was the worst one, never leaving me alone.. and after Ino left – I mean", she tried to cover up the slip of Ino's name, but the intent look on Gaara's face stopped her. She lowered her gaze and continued.

"She.. started abusing me. Without Ino there to help me I was vulnerable and an easy target. So I decided to.." she didn't want to say it at loud. She couldn't. That would be confessing she was harboring anger so great she would be able to commit such horrible deed.. murdering someone.

"Get rid of her", Gaara finished her sentence. Yeah, that sounded better that 'I decided to kill her'. Get rid of. With that she could live with. She nodded, shifting her gaze to the window. She was sitting on a bed which belonged to Gaara's roommate, while the redhead was sitting on his, facing her.

"So what went wrong?"

She gulped, hesistant to continue her story. What if someone overheard them? His aura flared up and in fear of his next move she opened her mouth again.

"It wasn't as easy as I had planned. She was awake. Luckily for me it was dark and she didn't recognize me. But she fought back with everything she could. That's how I got the big cut on my arm, my alibi. I was able to knock her unconscious and run away. I hurt my ankle on the stairs, and panicked.. so I screamed for help. Kurenai-sensei came to my rescue, but Karin.." Hinata couldn't finish the sentence so again Gaara did it for her.

"No-one came for her."

* * *

Sasuke didn't even bother to try take back his wallet from Naruto. He stared at the cafeteria food on his plate, not really hungry. Ino was sitting next to him, she too lost in her own thoughts. Then the warning bells in the Uchiha's head went off.

Yamanaka Ino was sitting next to him – and wasn't glomping, hugging him or hanging on his arm? He slowly turned to look at her, as if not to catch her attention by moving too suddenly.

_'She's beautiful'_

* * *

_'Did I really have to be such a bitch? I mean.. she's really sensitive about awkward situations. And out of all people, Gaara went after her. That guy can be so weird sometimes.. I wonder if Hinata knows he's a criminal – kind of. He was found guilty of one murder, but I'm sure he has done more than that. The police just hasn't found any evidence. Damn that guy is sneaky.'_

An alarm went off in her head.

_'That guy is a criminal.. and Hinata's with him!'_

* * *

A sudden look of horror crossed her face. That brought Sasuke back from lala-land. What though had made her panic?

"I.. need to go.. eh, somewhere.. see ya" were her last words before running to look for Hinata – or would have been if Sasuke hadn't grabbed her wrist on the spur of the moment.

"You are not a fangirl", he almost added 'are you?', but being the self-satisfied smart heart-throb he couldn't. Uchiha Sasuke didn't _doubt_, he always _stated_. That, my friends, is the key of being (overly) confident and popular (bastard).

"Wh-what makes you say that?" Ino's voice was hesistant, torn between playing her role and looking for her friend that might be in trouble.

_'I need a plan B. How can I get away from him without raising suspicions? Usually he just.. pushes me away..' _Hence her back-up plan: be a fangirl.

"Aww, is my Sasu-kun _jealous _over me? Don't worry darling, we can get together. Righ now I need to.. uh, plan for the Valentine's Day! Would you like strawberry ot blueberry pie? Or perhaps apple?" That was all what was needed to make Sasuke back up in disgust.

".. just go already.."

A bright smile graced Ino's face – _'Yatta! It's a point for the fangirl act!' _– as he pushed her away, towards the doors. It took only a second and the only evicence of her ever being there was a plate of uneaten salad and a mental image of her in Sasuke's mind.

_'She didn't deny it, though..'_

* * *

"C-can you.. forgive me?" Hinata asked quietly after a full five minutes of silence his statement had caused. She knew she seemed like a heartless bastard, not crying about the girl that died.. but she couldn't find the strength to fake crying. Her confession had taken it all away.

"You're not the only one to have made a mistake, Hinata", was his reply before he finally stood up from his bed. He walked to the door and opened it. To Hinata, it was a dismissal as clear as the sun. She quickly walked to the door, but suddenly turned to face him before he could close the piece of wood between them.

"How did you find out?" A slight, almost unnoticeable smirk rose to his lips.

"I have a talent for finding out thigs that intrigue me"

* * *

**1328 **


	11. Of Stalkers And Uchiha Pride

A/N: I don't own Naruto, etc., don't sue. And yea, I made up Karin's surname. For those who don't know who she is, I'm in the same boat with you xD but since I've been reading fics, I've been spoiled rotten ( I have a pretty good idea what she's like). Don't worry, she won't have the possibility to be OOC since she's dead already xP.

_Chapter 10 – Of Stalkers and Uchiha Pride_

* * *

"Shika, have you seen Hinata?" Ino was freaking out. She had ran out on Sasuke half an hour ago, intending to find the shy Hyuga – with no succes at all. Shikamaru was the only one she could ask, since it would seem very.. unIno-like to go around asking people where the 'missing' girl was. Hell, no-one besides the pineapplehairdo knew that she had known Hinata before transferring to Konoha! (A/N: yea right, Ino..)

Shikamaru had been easy to find; he spent all of his free time on the roof of the school building since it was the only place he wouldn't be bothered – usually at least.

"Why do you ask? Suddenly got worried for her welfare because it was Gaara and not _you_ who followed her after the whole awkward cafeteria incident?"

Ino was frozen for a second: Shikamaru _spoke_! Soon she reconnected her mind and body together and – for her utter disbelief and embarrasment – started stuttering.

"N-no, of course.. not.. I j-just.. a-ano.."

"They went to my room to talk in private", Shikamaru answered, not turning to look at the surprised blonde.

"Wh-what? Why would they go to _your_ – " Sighing in annoyance, Shikamaru answered before Ino could finish her sentence, "I'm his _roommate_, Ino. He threw me out and went in with her."

'_Hinata and Gaara.. alone.. in his room.. Shikamaru would have done _something_ if he thought she would be in danger.. but.. darn it this is troublesome!'_

"Gaara's not a criminal, Ino. He can manage his anger quite alright.. unlike you" the last he muttered to himself, and seemingly Ino hadn't heard.

"I.. Would it be alright to.. you know.. go there?" The blonde asked, still half-dazed about her earlier conclusions.

"No. Just leave them be, Ino. You used to be content with that, before" the Nara boy said, finally sitting up and looking at her, "but since you're _that_ worried, I think it's alright if I finally claimed the room to myself for once. Gaara's been so darn sneaky about something, always throwing me out.."

* * *

After her 'chat' with Gaara, Hinata locked herself into her room. She wanted to be alone to think back on that day that she let an – more or less - innocent girl die.

It had taken her a few days to fully realize Makichi Karin really was dead, but when she had.. she hadn't felt any remorse. She had given into the hatred, but now..

.. now that she had confessed..

.. now that someone knew..

.. now that the truth had been shoved at her face..

A silent tear slid down Hinata's cheek. Maybe, just maybe the girl had had a reason for everything she did to her. Maybe she was in pain, too. Perhaps she had planned to change, to forgive her own abusers and make amends with Hinata. And because of that belief, Hinata closed her eyes and shakingly clasped her hands.

She prayed for Karin to rest in peace.

* * *

Inside, Sasuke was seething. Because of one girl, a _fangirl_, he had stooped to _stalking_. Uchihas _never_ stalked _anyone_: _anyone_ stalked _them_. Full stop, end of the story.

So, he was just casually leaning against the wall next to the staircase leading to the roof – stairs that a certain blonde had walked up just a minute ago. He _wasn't_ waiting for anyone to show up.

Right.

When he heard two sets of footsteps instead of one, he knew Ino had probably convinced Shikamaru to help her with whatever she wanted to be done. Last time she had made him buy her tampons.. thank _gods_ Sasuke hadn't been at the scene, she might have made _him_ do it.

"Hurry up, Shika! Hinata might be –" the Yamanaka closed her mouth when she saw Sasuke. She was caught red-handed (for not planning for the Valentine's which meant she had been lying to _Uchiha Sasuke_ of all the people..)! A tint of red appeared on her face. She was _so dead_..

"She's not in danger, Ino. Gaara's _not_ an evil incarnate, unlike someone I know.. Oh, what's up Sasuke?" Shikamaru greeted his friend, not fazed or even surprised to see him there as if he was waiting for them.

Ino was panicking.

"Sasu-kun, did you follow me all the way here? About the Valentine's, I heard that Sakura, that damn bitch, already decided to make you something sweet so I thought that since you _don't_ like sweets I would make something else! Right, Shika? And, eh - "

"Shut up, you're giving me a headache. I don't know the details but I'm _not_ stupid, Yamanaka. This fangirl act is your attempt to hide your relationship with the Hyuga girl."

'_Bull's eye'_, Sasuke thought when he saw Ino's rabid fangirl mask shatter.

"You would do the same, Sasuke, if you had ever dated Naruto.." she said to her defence, though it came out more like a whine. She grimazed as soon as the words left her mouth and turned away from the boys.

".. whatever, Yamanaka"

* * *

When Hinata opened her eyes, her clock showed 10.26 pm.

"Did I.. fall asleep?" she quietly asked herself, sitting up. But how had she laid down on her bed? The last thing she remembered was leaning on a wall in a sitting position, and praying..

A tint of remorse took over her mind. Tears began to gather behind her eyes. "I.. I regret it.." she whispered to herself, a slight smile gracing her lips. She wasn't an unfeeling bastard!

"Regret what?" a face suddenly popped into Hinata's line of sight. She had to blink a few times before she could recognize it. And even longer to convince herself that the person wasn't her own imagination..

"Ino-sempai?"

"Sempai?" another voice asked at loud. Hinata's head whipped to look at the source of the voice and saw – to her horror – Nara Shikamaru and Uchiha Sasuke, of all people.

"H-hai, Ino is a year older –" she started, but Ino's pleading look stopped her. _'So they don't know she had to stay a year behind?'_

"A-ano.. what are you doing here?" Hinata quickly changed the subject, but noticed that Shikamaru's brains had processed the information already.

Damn, Ino was going to kill her..

"Yamanaka was running around the school, looking for you", Sasuke spoke for the first time, his voice betraying a hint of curiosity. He was clearly waiting for some kind of reaction.. Hinata didn't intend to satisfy his curiosity, however, and turned to look at the said blonde.

"I saw Gaara follow you when you left the cafeteria this morning.." Ino muttered, not willing to reveal her actual reason.

"She thinks Gaara's a criminal", Shikamaru bluntly explained to Hinata, who already knew that the redhead wasn't the innocent type. But to have done something to be considered a criminal? Well, it wasn't any of _her_ business, having had a part in a girl's death and single-handedly blowing up a school..

"We all have our bad habits", Hinata answered, trying to seem as innocent as she could. One wrong move and Shikamaru – and why not Sasuke, too – might find out..

But how was it possible that Gaara had found out before _Shikamaru_? He had said he had an ability to find out things he was interested in, but did that mean he had a personal interest in the case?

Or _her_?

"I guess so.." Ino muttered, still not looking at anyone in the room.

"W-wait.. how did you get in?" Hinata asked, having just realized that there were three non-Sabaku persons in the room.

"The Sabaku girl came back a few hours ago and let us in", Sasuke answered this time, since Ino still seemed to be embarrassed about the whole worrying thing and it would have been too troublesome for Shikamaru to say such an obvious thing.

Wait, what happened to the Uchiha pride? He was no-one's messenger!

"O-oh.. okay then. A-ano, I wouldn't want to be rude or anything, but.. could you.. get out? It's late, and.."

".. you just slept the whole day, Hinata-chan", Ino pointed out. She suddenly was so comfortable talking to Hinata it reminded her of the old days.. the two boys noticed the change of mood immediately.

So did Hinata, and it was bothering her. Earlier Ino had wanted to be as far away from her as possible, but she had looked for her the _whole day_ and now was talking to her like nothing had ever happened..

"But you didn't, and neither did Temari. She was out the whole day, she must be tired" realizing that the three knew she had just made that up, Hinata sighed and looked down at her hands.

"I- I don't want to be tossed around like a rag doll, Ino. Just.. make up your mind. Please."

* * *

1464. Not bad, not bad at all xD. I promise, Hyuga Neji makes his grand entrance in the next chapter!


	12. Hyuga Neji and Violet Underwear

_Chapter 11 – Hyuga Neji And Violet Underwear_

* * *

**Monday, 11.45**

Ino hadn't spoken to her since Saturday night, and Hinata was starting to regret ruining the mood back then by saying something.. unnecessary. Sasuke was giving her strange looks from time to time, and Shikamaru.. well, he clearly wasn't interested in the matter anymore, seeing as he was sleeping the whole Math class.

Hinata knew it was because Ino's cold attitude towards her that Akimichi Chouji hadn't spoken to her although they had had two classes together already. It bothered her, the boy seemed really nice but obviously the blonde girl's influence on him was greater than his appetite for making new friends.

The Hyuga heiress sighed in relief when the luch bell rang. The whole day had been so _boring_ she had almost done Shikamarus (1) and fallen asleep. Key word being 'almost'.

Instead of heading towards the room of doom – i.e. the cafeteria – Hinata decided to head outside. She wasn't really keen on meeting anyone, and running into Ino was something she wanted the _least_. And ever since Saturday she got the vibes that Sakura _really_ didn't like her. And Naruto seemed to really like the pink-haired bitch.

Conclusion: If she tried to hang out with him, Sakura wouldn't hesistate to go away which would make Naruto sad. Which would make Hinata feel bad. So, no hanging out with Naruto. But just so she wouldn't hurt his feelings (she knew he could be very sensitive..) she would, from time to time, go talk to him. But only if Sakura wasn't with him. In Shikamaru's words: Troublesome.

With a capital T.

"Don't you think you're taking it a bit too far? I mean, she still doesn't know about the assasination business –" a girl said in a hushed tone just as Hinata was passing a small group of college students.

"Tenten, shut up. It doesn't concern you", a male voice answered coldly and showed the brown-haired girl, Tenten, away. She took two steps backwards so she wouldn't loose her balance – and bumped into Hinata.

"G-gomen nasai, sempai", Hinata quickly apologized, helping the other girl to fully gain her footing before bowing. The look on the girl's face changed dramatically when she saw Hinata's face.

"_Hinata_?"

**Katari Tenten**, 19 – ex-Kunoichi student, transferred to Konoha right after the Kunoichi incident. Mysteriously enough, is the only one (besides Rock Lee) who has been seen in the Hyuga compound accompanied by Neji (translation: one of Neji's few friends).

"Katari-sempai! I didn't know you transferred here too", Hinata exclaimed, surprised. The group of college students dispersed, leaving only two males plus Tenten and Hinata in the hallway.

"Hinata-sama?"

Before Hinata had time to register the familiar voice she already felt his arms around her.

"N-nii-san?" she couldn't believe it – Neji went to Konoha too? Grinning widely Hinata gently pushed him away to an arm's length to have a better look at him.

"Father didn't tell me you go here too", she said, looking up at his tall form. A rare smile graced his facial features as he took a step back, minding her personal space.

"He didn't tell me you were going to come here either. Have you had luch yet?"

"No, I haven't. I'd be glad if I could join you", Hinata said, recognizing the unvoiced question.

"But Neji-kun, you have the meeting –" Tenten butted in hesistantly. The Hyuga's actions had been unpredictable to say the least, and she didn't want to get on his bad side, ever.

Not like Sabaku no Gaara had..

"Tell him something came up. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to catch up with my cousin.." the order disguised as a polite excuse was clear to Lee and Tenten. They muttered their goodbyes to Hinata and left as fast as they could without raising the young Hyuga's suspicions.

* * *

"Thank you for the lucheon, nii-san", Hinata said as they walked out of the small but sophisticated teahouse. Neji had, as a perfect gentleman, paid the bill regardless of his cousin's quiet protests.

The teahouse was situated right outside the Konoha campus's gates. At first Hinata had been hesistant to leave the institute's area, but had been convinced by Neji to 'let loose once in a while'.

They had talked about almost everything, but Hinata had noticed that Neji had purposely avoided the subject of Kunoichi incident. Maybe her father had got something to do with it.. he _had_ gotten the press to shush up, so why not his nephew too?

"Anytime", he answered, quickly glancing at his watch, "I've got to go now. I'll see you later, then."

"Hai, later nii-san" Hinata said her goodbyes as they began to walk their separate ways: Neji towards the colloge side of the institute, Hinata to the High School section. She didn't notice the last, almost bitter glance he threw at her way before turning back around and heading to a destination unknown.

* * *

The wait for her next class to start was.. uncomfortable to say the least. Music classroom was situated right next to the Art's, and with her luck a certain blonde had to wait for her class to start in the same hallway.

Hinata didn't dare to ask anyone if they had arts with her: they all were Ino's friends. Except Sakura, but she hated Hinata too.

'_Well isn't this a blast..'_

"Shika-chan!" a girl with her dirty blond hair in four ponytails walked up to them. She saw Hinata and gave her a small wave before dragging the said lazy boy further away from the group.

"The bitch..", Ino muttered loud enough for everyone to hear – unintentionally, because she knew what Sakura would say..

"If you're _that_ jealous of Shikamaru then maybe you should stop pestering Sasuke-kun, Ino-pig!"

Chouji knew what was coming, so he quickly moved away from the two seething girls. Sasuke didn't react in any way: he knew that neither of them wouldn't –even by accident – hurt him, or there would be hell to pay. Hinata however wasn't used to see people fight, and tried to stop them by moving in between Ino and Sakura. This, of course, caused confusion.

"What.. Hyuga girl, what do _you_ want?" Sakura asked, torn between confusion and anger. What kind of a stunt was the new girl trying to pull? No trace of emotion was found on Ino's face: she had subconsciously known that Hinata would try to do something, and that emotionally prepared her for the intervention.

"A-ano, please don't fight.."

She was saved by Temari who had already returned Shikamaru to his original spot, next to the Arts' classroom.

"Hinata-chan, hi! Sorry about the mess this morning, I had to leave early for a Biology lecture – I _so_ hate those – and didn't have time to clean up when I came back.." Seeing a friendly face made Hinata smile.

"It's alright, Temari-san, I was in a hurry myself this morning so - " she didn't get to finish for Temari was already countering her apology.

"You call _that_ a mess? A few bras and panties don't bother me! Oh, by the way, I just _love_ the violet ones. Where did you get them? I can't seem to find _any_ good clothing stores these days.." though her tone was carefree, her eyes had a playful glint in them.

What came to her words, Sasuke didn't seem to even hear her – as one might expect. Ino and Sakura had long forgotten their argument and were now looking between Temari and Hinata, trying to figure out _why_ the older girl had brought up Hinata's underwear.

"They're roommates", Shikamaru stated in a bored manner, not even bothering to open his eyes to look at the others. An uncomfortable silence followed.

'_This uncomfortable silence thing seems to happen very often..'_ Hinata thought and sighed. She had an idea what Temari had tried to achieve: a some kind of abnormal reaction from Sasuke (probably to find out if he really was gay) or Shikamaru (to see if he reacted in any way – and beat the hell out of him if he did).

Yes, Hinata knew of Temari and Shikamaru's engagement. The blonde had told her just the night before, after Hinata had found the two in a .. compromizing situation on the older girl's bed. There had been no note on the door.

Sakura seemed to be too busy trying to see any changes in Sasuke's emotinless face to make fun of Hinata, so Ino decided to take the lead. It wasn't like it would seem suspicious, now would it?

Just as the first words were about to come out of her mouth, Naruto jumped out of nowhere and headed towards Sakura.

"Sakura-cha-"

"Don't touch me you baka" was the cold retort to the blond. Anger found it's way to Hinata's mind, and forgetting all self-preservance the shy girl noticed she had broken the promise she had made to herself: stay out of rooms that have both Naruto and Sakura present.

"Konnichi wa, Naruto-kun" she greeted the newcomer, giving her usual polite bow.

* * *

(1) "do (e.g.) Jakes" in Finnish means to do what Jake usually/mostly/etc. does. In this case, "do Shikamarus", stands for falling asleep (as stated in the fic itself xP). If you know the _real_ English version of this saying, please don't hesistate to tell me. I'm starting to feel really stupid, translating Finnish sayings straight into English.. it's kind of forbidden, since it's not 'real English'. My teacher would kill me ;...;

1502 words.


	13. The Secret Is Out

I don't own Naruto. If I did.. well, you don't want to know xD

_Chapter 12 – The Secret is Out_

* * *

"So does any of you brats know what _true_ art is?" The blond substitute art teacher asked, leaning against the clean blackboard. Everyone but the transfer students knew what would come next.

"Art.. is a **BANG**, un!"

".. you think bombs are art?!" a girl, ex-Kunoichi, asked, surprise clear on her face. Was their teacher – _substitute _teacher – out of his _mind_?!

".. you're an idiot, un. I'm not talking about incendiary devices, un!"

"Well you _do _study chemistry in university, Deidara-sensei, so people will think so when you talk about _bangs_", Sakura piped up and the whole class – minus Hinata, of course – started to laugh.

"_And_ you were facinated about the Kunoichi blow-up thing just a moment ago", a random boy stated, trying to hide something inside his jacket at the same time. Everyone fell silent at his words: there were six transfer students from Kunoichi in the classroom.

"It _was_ a beautiful sight.. those lights illuminating the night sky with – oh, does any of you know how many bombs there were?"

"Kunoichi was a large school, so at least five", the already mentioned random guy said, dropping a small dog treat to a white furball almost hidden away in his large hoodie. A girl next to him, a medium height brunette, snorted.

**Kamato Kotomi**, ex-Kunoichi, transferred to Konoha due to the Kunoichi incident. Was Makichi Karin's "right hand woman" and the biggest gossip in her ex school.

"Yea right, as if _that_ would be enough. I'd say seven or eight"

'_.. eight? But I installed only two: one in the kitchen and one in the girls' dorms..'_

"What about you, you girl on the back, what do you think?" Deidara asked, looking at Hinata. Her expression just now had caught his eye. It was as if she knew something about the incident..

"Why would you ask the Hyuga freak? She was probably unconscious the whole time!" Kotomi pointed out, and all the transfers laughed. This inside joke got Sakura's attention: maybe she could benefit from this class, after all.

Slowly Hinata stood up, as was taught in Kunoichi, to answer teacher's question. She could feel the stinging in her face which came every time she had to speak up in class. She took a deep breath and tried, as best as she could, to look as innocent and oblivious as possible. She had seen their substitute teacher's curious expression before asking her opinion..

"I-I guess only a – s-sick person would have had time to count the explosions at that situation.. A-and o-only the one who installed the incendiary devices would know how many there were exactly.."

A snort.

"Who are you calling a sick person? You probably jumped up and down in joy when you heard that Karin hadn't been able to get out of there in time!" Surprised at the loud voice, Hinata turned to face Kotomi.

Her head was starting to ache..

"You waste of air, you should have been the one who died that night!" Black spots were starting to fill Hinata's vision. Fainting was only a few seconds away..

"Don't bother to faint, Yamanaka's not here to catch you –"

Black.

* * *

While Hinata was being taken to the nurse's office Sakura shooed the boy sitting next to Kotomi and sat down beside the surprised girl.

"I couldn't help but overhear.. you said something about Yamanaka Ino, right?" Sakura asked in a kind voice, a small smile on her face. Kotomi turned to her and nodded.

"How do you know Yamanaka-sempai, Haruno-san?" She asked – of course she had heard of Sakura, and inside was excited that the pink haired beauty had started a conversation with her.

"_Sempai?_" Sakura was shocked, to say the least.

"Yes, she's a year older – "

"That bitch.." Sakura muttered, interrupting Kotomi. The brunette smirked, hearing curse the blonde. It seemed that the two of them would get along pretty well..

"I'm Kamoto Kotomi, Haruno-san. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I believe we have a common subject of interest.." Kotomi started, but suddenly paled.

"S-so.. Yamanaka-sempai.. goes Konoha?"

The girl's reaction surprised Sakura. It seemed as if Kotomi was afraid of Ino. _'In that case she might want to help me destroy the blonde bitch'_, Sakura thought and nodded to the brunette's question.

"I'm so screwed.. If Yamanaka finds out I caused the Hyuga freak faint I'm dead", Kotomi muttered into her hands. Placing a reassuring hand on the other girl's shouler, Sakura smiled encourangily at her.

"Kotomi-chan, tell me _everything_ about Yamanaka Ino. If I understood your words earlier about her and the Hyuga girl correctly, we might have some material to destroy her.. completely."

* * *

"Stop walking in a circle, you're making _me_ nervous", Shikamaru said to Ino who was still waiting for her 'rival in love' to walk out the art classroom.

Classes had ended five minutes ago, and Sakura was usually the first one to exit. But now, she was nowhere in sight. Ino's wild imagination started to wander again, and she was convinced that the worst case scenario would happen. Sakura would _never_ stay behind if it wasn't for some new, ugly, disastrous gossip.

"What's going on in you head? Maybe she just stayed behind to talk to the teacher –"

"You know Deidara-sensei. Kunoichis don't know him, so they'll think he'd talk about bombes. And the Kunoichi incident will come up at some point. If Hinata doesn't keep a low profile, one of the girls will notice her and make an unnecessary comment.. and you know how Sakura loves gossiping. If she finds out, I'm dead.." Ino muttered in panic more to herself than her companion.

The arts' classroom door finally opened and revealed Sakura and Kamato Kotomi, the biggest gossip there ever was in Kunoichi.

"Were you waiting for me, _Ino-sempai_?" Sakura smirked at the blonde, walking past her and Shikamaru, "Or if you were looking for Hinata-_chan_, she's in the nurse's office. She fainted in the middle of class.." Ino tried her best not to let her blank look wawer. Slowly she turned to look at Kotomi who was still standing next to the door, a smug look on her face.

"Looks like you're not the Queen Bee around here, _Kunoichi Beauty_. I'm going to make your life a living _hell_ here.." the girl giggled, and was about to turn to walk away when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"I could beat you up righ here and now, you know.. but I'd rather ruin your life first. See you around, _Kotomi-chan_" Ino whispered in her ear, then pushed the smalled girl roughly against the wall. Not looking back, Ino walked away as calmly as she could.

'_I _so_ need a plan'_

* * *

**1122**


	14. Influence

_Chapter 13 – Influence_

* * *

In the end, Ino had come up with a plan by herself.

"Hi, is this Inuzuka Hana-san? Yamanaka Ino here. Is it possible to meet you sometime today? Please, it's about the Student Council President, Haruno Sakura.. Alright, thank you so much! I'll see you then."

* * *

"_.. Do you know the new student from Kunoichi, Kamato Kotomi-san?"_

"_S-she.. please, for the sake of Sakura, for the sake of our friendship.."_

"_I was tricked by Kotomi once, she destroyed everything I had.."_

"_.. was the real reason for my transfer.."_

"_.. a chance for a new life, but she's gone after Sakura, I fear.."_

"_We used to be friends, Sakura and I, once upon a time.."_

"_Kotomi, for some reason, is now after her and her reputation.."_

"_.. she's probably trying to get her spot as Student Council's President, just as she did to me .."_

".._ I know Sakura hates me now, but I still value the friendship we once had. And for the sake of that friendship I want to help her, but she won't listen.."_

* * *

"Please, Inuzuka-sempai, you are the only one she'll listen. Please tell her what kind of person Kamato Kotomi really is, and convince her that everything she says is only to gain her trust. After that, she will _destroy_ Sakura. Just like she did to me.." crocodile tears made their way down Ino's face as she repeated the heart-wrenching story for the tenth time that day.

She had made a list of people who had enough influence but were gullible enough to believe her stories. Inuzuka Hana, the Student Council Secretary, was the last one on her list.

In fact, she had gone through every secretary of almost every club: presidents would probably be on Sakura's side and defend her till death. Those second-in-command had their trust, however, and could easily manipulate the chairmen and –women to doubt Sakura's words – gossiping was her life, after all, so maybe everyone would think that the whole story about Ino and Hinata was false too.

Ino hadn't heard any rumours about her and Hinata just yet, but she was sure Sakura was spreading them even at the present. Ino wished that all of them would be undermined and thus forgotten by the next day.

* * *

Lady luck wasn't on her side. Her plan had been _perfect_, she had an insider proving all the rumours true.. but somehow Ino had managed to undermine the credibility of her story.

'_How did this happen!? It couldn't be.. that _she_ has more influence than I?'_

Sakura hadn't seen Kotomi that day. The ex-Kunoichi was probably hiding somewhere, scared for her life.

Seething, Sakura continued her way to lunch only to run into Ino.

* * *

Ino had tried to avoid Sakura the whole day. She didn't want to make a scene for most likely she would have to drop the 'I'm just thinking what's best for her'-act and use the bitchy-act to win the argument. That would lessen the plausibility of her invented sob-story.

Her plan had been efficient until the luch began.

When she saw Sakura her first instinct was to be aggressive, start the fight and be done with it. Luckily for her, Sakura was so mad that she opened her mouth before thinking about the consequences to her popularity or believability.

"Yamanaka-bitch.. how _dare_ you!"

A small group began to gather around them: the conflicts of Haruno and Yamanaka were frequent but entertaining to most of the students.

"I beg your pardon?" Ino asked, acting innocent. Now, if Sakura would only continue her thoughtless rambling she might talk herself into a sticky situation, admitting starting rumours about Ino for example.

"I- you, how dare you to insult my friend by calling her a liar!" Sakura was able to save her face – if only for a moment longer. Her popularity would be at stake if she admitted starting the rumours and Ino would be somehow able to prove them wrong. The blonde thanked the gods above that Sakura had given her an opening to continue her innocent, caring friend-act.

"Kamato _is_ a liar! We all know that you're greedy for gossip and she used that to gain your trust. Her next step would have been starting rumours about you and by doing so undermine your influence. I told everyone so to _protect_ you, for the sake of the friendship we had!"

For a second, Sakura remained immobile. Their friendship was a sensitive issue to the pink-haired girl for she had been the one to break it off because of Sasuke. Though it had happened seven years ago, one year before Ino had transferred to Kunoichi, the feelings of betrayal and anger were still present to both of the girls.

"You fucking liar. You think _anyone_ would believe _that_? You're just jealous of the fact that I can make friends easily with people you never could! Kotomi-chan is a kind, sweet and caring person who was abused by _you_, whose life was hell because of _you_! All she did was open up to me. I decided to help her by telling everyone about your dirty little secret –"

How had Sakura been able to turn the tables against her? Calling the other girl a liar wouldn't help Ino at all, and saying that she hadn't been kind to Kotomi because she had teased Hinata was half admitting the rumours were true. If only someone would interrupt, give her time to think of a comeback – an idea came to her fast as lightning.

"If she hates me so much, then she must want me to suffer? Wouldn't inventing false stories and making up rumours be a perfect revenge?" Ino interrupted Sakura's rant.

The blonde was feasting on the panicked look on Sakura's face.

Arguing about who was lying and who wasn't would become too boring and would loose the trust and interest of the now large group of students. Sakura was in a stalemate.

"Then why won't we ask the Hyuga herself?"

* * *

In her mind Ino cursed Kotomi who had given Sakura a chance to come out of the fight as a winner.

Now it was all up to Hinata. Telling the truth meant Sakura's victory. It was in the shy girl's nature not to lie, and the threat of Kotomi's abuse would definitely have an affect. On the other hand, betraying anyone – especially Ino – wasn't in Hinata's to do list. Confessing might even have a negative affect on Neji's position as higher auctority and feared gang leader.

* * *

Sakura was jumping up and down in joy – mentally, of course. Ino was in a dead end because Hinata would surely – fearing Kotomi and Sakura's combined power and influence – tell the truth. Girl/girl relationships were very rare in Konoha, and it was something that was secretly frowned upon. No-one openly admitted being gayphobic, mostly because it was beginnig to be cool and 'in' in the outside world. The Konoha was a closed community however, and it was led by the popular people.

And no popular person had ever admitted being gay.

'_Ino's _so_ screwed'_.

* * *

It had been a huge shock for Hinata to be suddenly dragged from the lunch line to the yard between the high school building and the dormitories. What scared her even more was the huge audience surrounding her, Ino, Sakura and Kotomi.

She had a bad feeling about this..

"So Hyuga, are the rumours true? Did you or did you not have a relationship with Yamanaka in Kunoichi?" Sakura asked none-too-nicely.

Hinata's phobia of crowds kicked in full time. Panick attack was only seconds away, her breathing got faster, her whole bode was shaking. Kotomi's threatening look and Sakura's smirk didn't help the matter at all.

Her saviour came right on time.

"What is all this commotion about?"

* * *

A/N: 1303 words. Writing this took _forever_! I have the next chapter planned out but I still have to write it.. so it might take long. Anyway, I'm supposed to study for my history exam xDD...


	15. Closeness

_Chapter 14 - Closeness_

* * *

"What is all this commotion about?"

Kotomi, not having the knowledge the Konoha schoolers did, was about to tell the young man to shut the hell up – it was her luck that Sakura was there to step on her foot.

"Shut up, Kotomi. You don't want to mess with him.." was all the brunette needed to know. She shut her mouth and silently took a step backwards to get out of the man's way.

Ino was grateful for the interruption, but.. _'no, not him.. please, not _him_!'_ With these pleads in mind she turned to face the newcomer and came face to face to Hyuga Neji.

'_I'm dead..'_

* * *

Hinata felt like she could breathe again. She was about to silently thank anyone who was on watch above when she saw Ino's expression.

'_That's right, Neji must know about us.. and if he saw Ino bully me.. she's so dead.'_

"Concluding by the setting it seems like everyone's waiting for your answer, Hinata-sama", Neji said turning all the attention back to his shy cousin, "though it is in your nature to try to please everyone, I believe the truth would be the only thing to satisfy their curiosity".

Hinata was speechless. Neji wasn't standing up for her?

"Ha-hai, nii-san.."

"Hold your horses, Hyuga kid! Just because she's asked something doesn't mean she has to answer", someone interrupted and made her way through the thick crowd of students to the middle where all the involved ones resided in.

"You have no right to stick your nose in other people's business, _Sabaku_", Neji countered, totally forgetting Hinata was there. So did everyone else, because they quickly made their way to see the ultimate argument of Hyuga Neji and Sabaku Temari, the gang leader and the big sister.

The students had pushed her away from the crowd, leaving her stand outside the mass of students. Which suited Hinata just fine: finally she was out of the woods.

* * *

As the mass of students inched closer to the arguing pair, Ino had succesfully forced her way out of the crowd. Sighing in relief she straightened up. She felt lucky for she saw Sauke further away, leaning against a tree, looking bored. Glancing back at the mess of students she concluded no-one would notice.. and walked to the raven-haired young man.

"Can I ask for a favour? When Sakura notices I'm gone and says something about it, tell her to shut it, okay?" Ino asked, leaning a bit forward with her hands behind her back to create the most adorable and innocent look.

"That would somehow make you the winner now wouldn't it?" Apparently Sasuke wasn't fooled by her act. Ino sighed and proceeded to explain her reasoning.

"Yea, kind of.. if you speak up, the crowd will join you, saying things like 'yea, shut up you annoying bitch'. Losing the support of the students makes her think I'm more popular, which means she lost, which in turn makes her so embarrassed she won't bring up the subject ever again."

"You don't want her to talk about it again", Sasuke stated, strange look on his face. Ino was finally ready to forget about Hinata? Concluding from what he had witnessed, Ino wasn't even nearly ready to let the younger girl go.

"I want _no-one_ talk about it _ever_ again", Ino reassured but her quick glance at Hinata's way gave her out. What she saw, however, caught her attention.

Gaara was holding Hinata's arm and by the looks of it, was dragging her away. Before Ino could take two steps Sasuke had grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back to him.

"People will talk if they see you going after her." Ino struggled powerlessly against his grip. She knew he was right, but it was _Gaara_ who –

"You still love her", he stated again, letting go. As he suspected, Ino didn't go after the pair, but not because she was trying to prove him wrong. What she said next took him by surprise.

"Lately I've been thinking.. is it _her_ I'm missing or the closeness we used to have?"

She was so deep in thought she didn't notice the tears that had gathered to her eyes before one of them fell. She was about to rise her hand to rub her eyes when Sasuke pulled her close to him. With his righ hand's thumb he gently brushed the tear away. He leaned in closer to her ear.

"Close.. like this?" It wasn't the silent whisper but the gentle kiss he placed on her neck that made Ino gasp in surprise. No-one had been this close to her in a year.. and she missed it. She missed the warmth of another person, secretly exchanged butterfly kisses that took her breath away. Unconsciously she started to breath faster, excited about the closeness and intimacy Sasuke was offering her.

".. oldest trick in the book! Come on, you can do better than that! And next time you thing doing something like that, remember that _I'm_ her roommate!" Temari's voice penetrated through Ino's thoughts and brought her back to Earth.

"People might see..", the blonde muttered, half trying to push Sasuke away, half wishing he would hold on to her. In her attemp to try to ignore the wonderful feeling his embrace brought to her, she let her eyes wander through the crowd – and then she spotted Sakura.

"You still haven't gotten over the friendship thing between you and her?" A small smile crept to Ino's face: nothing less could be expected of Uchiha Sasuke's eyes.

"We used to be best friends, of course it will take a lot of time.. And she really likes you.." Guilt took over her. Sakura _really_ liked Sasuke, and Ino.. what was she doing? Just to annoy the pink-haired girl she was flirting with him..

"It was her who ended it." Again, Sasuke had more insight than Ino had known. She should seriously stop underestimate him.

"That's true, but she loves you, Sasuke. I'm just pretending.. it would be unfair, to snatch you away from her – "

"You're not considering my opinion, you know", Sasuke pointed out, finally backing up a little to look into her eyes. The blonde's protests died in her throat when their gazes met.

"..but I don't even like you", she finally managed to voice her thoughts, breaking their eye contact. An amused chuckle met her ears.

"And that's why you haven't slapped me yet?"

That's when Ino realized that though Sasuke had given her more space, he had somehow, at some point, pressed her againts the tree he had been leaning on earlier. A rare blush graced Ino's face and she finally was succesful in pushing him away.

"You.. you're just evil", Ino muttered, seeing him smirk at her antics.

"And that's why you can't get enough of me"

* * *

**1140**


	16. Of A Maiden's Honour

I _still_ don't own the characters.I own the story though, and if you'd like to suggest any pairings, bring it on!

_Chapter 15 – Of A Maiden's Honour_

* * *

Hinata wondered if this day could have any more surprises in store for her. First she had been dragged to the yard and questioned, Neji had interrupted but didn't even try to help the matters, then Temari had saved her in the nick of time and now Gaara was taking her somewhere.

"Wh-where are you taking me, Gaara-san?" she managed to ask but got no answer.

Hinata didn't know whether to sigh in relief or try to run away when she saw the familiar door to Gaara's room. Obediently she walked in after he had opened the door for her, and waited for him to assign a seat for her – the last time she had sat on Shikamaru's bed, but the genious might get annoyed if it became her 'usual spot' every time she visited the room.

To her utter surprise, Gaara guided her to his own bed. He sat down next to her, and silence fell between them.

"I've been meaning to ask about the last time.. you said that you could find out things that interest you. What –"

"I had a personal interest in the matter", Gaara answered, not really giving any answer to her question, ".. but one thing amazes me. How did you insert _all_ those bombs without anyone noticing? I presume you did it during the same night".

The realization she had gotten during her art's class came to her once again.

"I didn't – I mean, I just found out that there had been _more_ than the two I had placed.." her voice quivered: she very well knew what that meant. Someone had spied on her, found out her plans beforehand.

"How could they have known –" Gaara stopped in mid-sentence, seemingly having heard something. Hinata listened closely and after few seconds of silence the bathroom door opened.

.. Well, at least she was now even with Shikamaru. He was fresh from the shower and only wearing a towel.

Before the Nara had even time to register what had happened, Hinata had already turned away, accidentally burying her face into Gaara's shoulder. It didn't take a genious to know she was embarrassed as _hell_, but more than seeing her roommate's fiancé half naked she feared that he had heard the conversation between her and Gaara.

".. I was just leaving", Shikamaru muttered, then quickly went to the bathroom to get dressed. He came out barely a minute after, fully dressed. Within a few seconds he was at the door, already closing it, when he turned around.

"If anything happens to her, you're dead", he stated to Gaara.

"Are you threatening me, Nara?" A chuckle was the pineapple-head's first reaction, then a "Ino will stop at nothing to destroy you, not to mention Naruto would have your head –"

Mentioning the blond's name got a reaction out of the redhead. He rose quickly from the bed, adressing Shikamaru: "What does he have got to do with this?"

"Didn't you know? They used to be involved, Naruto and Hinata", Shikamaru informed, before finally closing the door. Hinata had hoped for a few minute's silence so she could sort out her thoughts, but knew it was a lost cause.

"What did he do to you?"

.. that wasn't what Hinata had been expecting, and it clearly showed on her face.

"We.. it's.. a-ano.. none of your business.." she finished lamely, avoiding his gaze and a deep blush gracing her cheeks.

"One word from you, Hinata.. and he's dead, I promise", Gaara said, surprising Hinata even more. His words were just plain nonesense or he knew about her father's – and the whole Hyuga clan's – obsession with honour.

"D-do you really mean it?" she asked quietly, finally looking at him in the eye. She saw no trace of dishonesty. Was he really so concerned for her honour, well-being, reputation?

"Would I say such things without meaning them?"

A sad smile graced her lips as she shook her head and patted the empty space next to her for him to sit down. It was strange how a situation like this made her feel like home.. He sat down and she began to give her reply to his offer.

"Please, there is no need to resort to such measures. I assure you, Gaara-san, that I do not wish any harm to come upon him: that night was only a drunk's mistake, seeing as he loves someone else.."

"But he was your first.. no man should do such a thing without loving the woman in question."

"It's my heart's desire to see him go unharmed: we live in two completely different worlds. He does not know how my family interprets this situation, and he never shall."

"Should he not know how deeply it hurts you to see him woo another, after what you have given him?"

As Gaara suspected, Hinata started to shake lightly due to unfreed sobs. _'As expected, she takes the prince-act more seriously than any other would, surely because of her backgroung.. I'll be glad to see that clan fall'_.

* * *

In all truth, Neji was glad that Temari had cut Hinata off. If she hadn't, Hinata might have told the truth and thus undermined his authority – no matter _how_ feared he was, a lot less people would take him seriously if his cousin turned out to be gay.

'All is well for now. I just need to make Hinata understand the consequences if she tells anyone..'

* * *

After the stressing Tuesday Incident – that was what she called the day Hinata had been put into the middle, when she had 'won' Sakura and proved to be more popular than her, when Sasuke had held her close..

'_Why does he do this to me?'_ Ino asked herself, lying in bed on Wednesday evening. Sakura, her roommate, hadn't talked to her at all: not even to call her Ino-pig or curse her. The silence, to Ino, was oppressive: she had always had got someone to talk to, even if to put them down or be put down herself.

Not only that, but she had heard from Shikamaru that Hinata had visited Gaara yesterday – _again_. Not that she cared, no! It was just.. strange seeing her ex getting close to boys. Hinata used to be _afraid_ of every male – excluding Neji, but he didn't even look like one – she met.

What was so different about Gaara? Or _Naruto_?

School had started to do downhill for her, she was too busy thinking about other things to concentrate on homework and assignments. And when Friday finally came, she was about to drown under the pile of unfinished schoolwork that were due the next week.

Hence the reason she didn't go drinking that night.

* * *

**1119**


	17. Facing the Reality

**A/N: **Long time no see! Sorry it took so long... my inspiration was hiding. It's still on the loose somewhere, but I managed to write this chapter without it. Hopefully it won't happen again 'cause writing this chapter was painful..

_Chapter 16 – Facing the Reality_

* * *

After having woken up in Gaara's room, Hinata had returned straigth to her room, not minding that she had missed half of Tueday's classes. The redhead hadn't woken her up and had staid with her – as her pillow, more like it. The Hyuga felt like she owed him: he had, after all, consoled her and taken care of her when she was unable to do it herself. And, of course, he hadn't told anyone..

Which lead to a question: why hadn't he? She had heard that the police suspected Gaara for the Kunoichi incident. Shouldn't he be angry with her for being the real culprit? Shouldn't he be trying to destroy her life?

Maybe.. he fancied her?

'_Stop that!'_ Hinata scorned to herself, _'Stop thinking that! Maybe he just wants to be nice.. maybe he had been picked on too, and feels sorry for me?'_

Confusion led her to drinking on that Friday night.

* * *

**September, Friday, 10.26 pm**

Sakura had been in the bathroom for two hours straight, and it was getting on Ino's nerves. Was the pink-haired girl being unusually slow to agitate her?

27 minutes later the Haruno girl emerged, fully dressed, her make-up a couple of shades darker that usually on Fridays and wearing more skinny clothes Ino had _ever_ seen her in. She was _so_ planning something..

"Seems like you're up for some whoring tonight. Who's the unfortunate victim?" Ino tried to get the other girl to speak, with no succes. Sakura just grabbed her purse from her bed and walked out the door, ignoring her completely.

"Wow. I wonder what she would do if she knew what I did with Sasuke on Tuesday.." the blonde muttered to herself, getting back to writing a Chemistry essay on ironoxides.

She _could_ leave it half a page long, go drinking, forget her problems for a while and get yelled on Monday by Orochimaru.. No, wait. He'd give two weeks worth of _detention_.

For the next half an hour, Ino was desperately trying to modify the layout and spacing of the writing file so it would take as much space with as little text as possible. She managed to make it seem like a page long and figured that it would be good enough though the requirement was at least two pages. She could say that her computer was causing trouble.. though he wouldn't buy it. But who cared, the topic was so damn _boring!_

Sighing in defeat, Ino saved the file and closed it. Turning off the computer she noticed a stack of schoolbooks next to the machine. Mathematics book was the one on the top, so Ino grabbed it and headed to her bed.

Why couldn't she have done her homework _before_ the whole "showdown" on Tuesday?

* * *

**Saturday, 01.48 am**

"Why do they give assignments on _music_?! Aren't we supposed to sing in class, and get over it? Stupid teacher, stupid school.. stupid, stupid Sakura for getting on my nerves.. I hate her. _Hate her_!"

Knock.

Slowly Ino turned from her books to look at the door. Sakura had the keys and no-one else had any business in their room this late – or early, however you want to put it.

Knock, knock.

The person on the other side was obviously getting annoyed, so Ino stood up and walked to it. She hesistated for a few seconds – what if Sakura had sent someone to do her in? – then slowly turned the handle. After hearing a click she pulled to door slightly open.

Sasuke was leaning on the doorframe.

"What are you doing here?" Ino immediately asked, not opening the door wider. She still remembered what ahd happened on Tuesday and wasn't intending to lower her guard near him again.

"Can I come in?"

* * *

"Hinata, are you alright?" Temari asked, leaning down to her level.

No, she was _not_ alright. The look Neji had given her earlier had been withering. She knew what it meant: _don't say a word_. When had he become so _cold_? Was he, too, more interested in his reputetion than her feelings? She didn't need another Ino in her life right now: one was more than enough.

"Come on, let's go", the blonde straightened up and took her arm to help her stand up. Hinata looked up at her roommate in confusion: where were they going?

"To our room, silly. Stand up, I'll help you walk. You clearly have had more than enough to drink for one night.."

"I'm alright, you don't have to – " her protests were ignored and Hinata felt herself being lifted up from the floor she had sat, mulling over her pathetic life.

"I'm not going to have fun while you angst", Temari said - or more like muttered - to herself, addressing Hinata. The younger girl heard her perfectly since they had just exited the noisy common room.

"People can do unimaginable things in the state you're currently in.."

The sorrowful look on Temari's face silenced Hinata's questions. Obviously she was remembering a past event and by the looks of it, it wasn't one to be told to outsiders.

Maybe her life wasn't as miserable as she had thought..

Since the elevators were broken – again – they had to walk up the stairs. Neither said a word for a full five minutes, but after passing the third floor Temari finally decided to break the silence.

"What's the real deal between you and Yamanaka? I've heard rumours about the two of you but can't bring myself to believe some of the things that haven been said.."

"She would kill me", Hinata said off-handedly, "but who the hell cares. She's been so..", and as Hinata was searching for the right word, she stumbled over the last step between the third and the fourth floor. Temari, having held her arm to keep her standing, fell on top of her on the floor, in front of a room 482.

"Ouch.." Hinata muttered, but bursted out in laughter when she saw her roommate: the blonde was holding her head – she had hit it on the floor – and the contents of her small bag were all over the floor. Muttering incohorent curses the eldest Sabaku turned to look at her to give a half-angry, half-playful look.

Then, she too, joined in the giggling.

* * *

Someone giggled in the hallway. A smirk appeared on Sasuke's face though he was still looking at her. He knew what would happen if she _didn't_ let him in. Everyone would be talking about it, and Sakura had a chance to make them believe that Ino didn't like Sasuke. Which was true of course, but to keep up her reputation the blonde wouldn't let anybody – who already didn't know – find out. That's why she fully opened the door and stepped out to let the person who had giggled know that it was indeed Ino who had answered Sasuke's knocking.

* * *

When Temari saw what was happening in front of the room number 489, it was already too late. Hinata had already turned to see Ino step out of the room to let in the man standing ouside her door.

"Hinata.." Temari whispered, now understanding what was the relatinship between the two girls. She crawled to Hinata's side to wrap her in a tight hug.

* * *

"Sure, Sasuke-kun", Ino purred, pulling him closer by the collar of his shirt, "you came at a perfect time, the bitch isn't here to ruin the mood. Come on in, loverboy".

* * *

A silent tear fell when the door was closed.

* * *

**A/N:** 1256 words. Review?


	18. Chapter With No Name

_Chapter 17 - Chapter With No Name (rewritten)_

* * *

**Saturday, 10.47**

Temari was starting to worry for her friend. She still hadn't gotten up though she had been awake for an hour already. The blonde didn't want to leave Hinata alone in the state that she was in, and had sat down beside her still body.

"Hinata, please.. you need to get something to eat", she tried to get a response from the younger girl.

Nothing.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Hinata turned to look at her and shook her head as a no. Sighing, Temari finally rose from Hinata's bed and went to her own to look for something to wear.

"I'm sorry Temari-san, I just.. I wasn't prepared to seeing what I saw last night" she apologized silently. Happy to get a reaction, Temari walked back to her bed and pulled the cover under which her roommate had been hiding all morning.

"We should get some breakfast to get rid of the headache now that you're officially awake", the blonde said and forced her resisting friend into the bathroom, "but first you're going to take a shower to clear your mind. I'll pick out some clothes for you!"

'_At least she's back to being her old, perky self'_ Hinata thought before turning the water on.

* * *

Ino didn't want to go to the cafeteria, not after what happened last night. So what if she still thought Sasuke was sexy? She had been able to push him away this time! He hadn't protested either, which was starting to raise suspicions in her. What had been the real reason he had knocked on that door if he hadn't wanted to do what he had clearly hinted he wanted to do?

And Sakura _still_ wasn't back..

Ino wished the two wouldn't have a connection. If they did, she didn't know what to do. Sure she still hated Sakura for not believing her six years ago when she had told her she didn't like Sasuke and not trying to mend their broken friendship, but.. It would be too cruel to have a person you like seemingly like your back and.. do stuff.. then see them flirting with another!

Then it hit her.

How in the _hell _could she have done that to Hinata?!

* * *

Betrayal was a hard thing to deal with, whether it was caused by a friend, a lover or a family member. Still, it was part of what life really was. Relationships, misunderstandings, hatred, need to be needed..

'_This is getting too angsty, stop it! You're going to make Hinata feel even more uncomfortable if you just sit there depressed. Get a hold of yourself!'_ Temari was scolding herself as she was sitting down at a table, waiting for Hinata to choose her breakfast.

'_I should be glad Yamanaka's not here..'_

"Hi sis!"

Temari groaned. Why did Kankuro _always_ have a bad timing? She would have been glad to beat the hell out of him but Hinata interrupted her before she even had the chance to rise her fist.

"Ohayo Kankuro-san. Temari-san, would you mind if I went back to our room? I don't think I'd feel comfortable here when.. _they_ come", the Hyuga said quietly, staring at her feet. The siblings immediately recognized her anxiety and stood up. Though Kankuro had no idea what was going on, he grabbed the food tray Hinata was holding to carry it to the two girls' room just as Temari put a hand over the Hyuga's shoulders and led her to the cafeteria doors.

Just as Temari opened the door someone walked in. Hinata still had her gaze on the ground and wasn't aware of her surroundings, so Temari gestured Kankuro to accompany her to their room. The Sabaku did as he was told and not a second later his arm replaced Temari's.

"Uchiha", the eldest Sabaku said coldly, her tone clearly hinting she wanted him to stop. But, being an Uchiha, he kept going. So did Temari, until she was close enough to grab his shoulder in a death grip.

"I know you're having fun with your new toy, but you should rethink the consequences of your actions, Uchiha. If you pull a stunt like the one you did last night _ever _again, there will be _hell_ to pay. Capiche?"

"What, you defending a fellow blonde's horour?" Sasuke mockingly asked, earning a snort and nail imprints on his shoulder from her hardened grip.

"Do whatever you want with her, as long as you keep it out of Hinata's sight", Temari whispered close to his ear, then gave him a push towards the food line.

"You really think I'm going to keep my hands to myself every time you precious Hyuga is present?" Sasuke asked turning to look at the blonde, only to see a sadistic grin on her face.

"Well yes, if you want to keep your hands and a certain _other_ part of your body intact."

Somehow Sasuke got the feeling that she really meant what she said.

* * *

Ino took a deep breath before opening the cafeteria doors. She hoped Hinata wasn't there to make her feel guilty – _again_. Sure she hadn't been _too_ considerate towards the younger girl, but that didn't mean she enjoyed the feeling.

"Finally decided to show your ugly face, Ino-pig? What's up with that look, finally realized you're just a wannabe?"

Okay, just a few seconds ago Ino had hoped to see Sakura to make sure she was okay – from what she had heard, the pink haired girl had drunk more than ever last night and wasn't even able to walk – but now she regretted it. Her shrill, annoying voice was giving Ino a headache.

"What happened to your silent treatment, forehead girl? You could have continued it for as long as we're roommates, you know.. I can't stand your voice", Ino said walking past her, not even giving her a glance.

"Well, someone convinced me to.. _find_ my voice again", Sakura giggled at her own inside joke. Seeing that Ino didn't get it – a.k.a. hadn't attacked her yet – she decided to clarify her statement.

"I spent the night with Sasuke-kun"

Without realizing it, Ino had stomped over to where Sasuke sat and slapped him. Only after the heartthrob gave her an amused look did her senses come back to reality.

She just slapped _Uchiha Sasuke_.

Not even Sakura knew what to say. None of them – minus Shikamaru and the Uchiha prodigy himself –understood why Ino hadn't jumped on the pink haired girl and started pulling her hair or something equivalently Ino-ish instead of doing such a.. _unfangirlish_ thing.

She saw no way out. There was _no_ excuse for what she had done, only the truth would give her a real reason for her actions. During every fight over Sasuke the boy in question was never harmed in _any_ way – unless you counted the momentarily deafness caused by the screams of the fighting parties.

Since there was no way to fix the situation, the Yamanaka decided to make Sasuke understand what awaited him if he used Sakura like that ever again – only to realize that he had pulled her onto his lap and was kissing her. All thoughts of getting back at him vanished from her head and without thinking she responded to the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck to pull him even closer to her.

"You bitch!"

Withing a blink of an eye – not that Ino had counted, she had totally lost all track of time – Sakura had grabbed her ponytail and pulled her away. The tug was so strong Ino ended up hitting her waist on the edge of the table before falling onto the floor, twisting her ankle into an awkward position in the process.

As Ino was trying to rise up, a punch was directed at the her head but the fist suddenly stopped. Someone had grabbed Sakura's wrist. Both girls turned to look at the person who had intervened. Shikamaru's expression was unreadable but the girls got the message: _cut it out_. Sakura glared at Ino who was still sitting on the ground.

"I _hate_ you" she spat at the blonde before turning and running away.

Thoughts of running after Sakura and giving her what she deserved had disappeared from Ino's mind when she had seen, just before the other girl had turned away from her, a silent tear escape her eye.

"Are you going to sit there all day?" Shikamaru asked, annoyed that Ino still hadn't woken up from her trance and was just staring at the spot Sakura had been few minutes ago.

"Huh? Oh, okay.."

"Jeez, you got that upset over a fight? You two have those all the time", Sasuke muttered while standing up, intending to go back to his room to clean up after Sakura. Not that the girl had made a mess, but he'd rather forget what happened last night as soon as possible.

"It has never been like this.. she.." Ino tried to voice her thoughts, but a sudden sob cut her sentence, "she's never.. _ever_.. cried before."

* * *

**1508**


	19. Icha Icha Returns!

_Chapter 18 – Icha Icha Returns!_

* * *

He didn't like this. _At all._

Hinata was clearly a mess – or just really deep in thought – and he had to balance a tray in his left hand while his right arm wrapped around the youner girl's shoulders and unlock the door at the same time. Magnificent time for his sister to just ditch him to do something 'important'.

Right.

It wasn't like he didn't mind being alone with Hinata, but she could pay _some_ attention to him..

Maybe he had been hanging around with his soon to be brother-in-law too much because he had the unnerving need to deem everything troublesome these days. Temari was troublesome, Gaara and his moods – sorry, his _incapability_ for moods – were starting to get on his nerves after 18 long years, he could do nothing to make Hinata feel better since no-one told him what was wrong _and_ he had been too busy with school he hadn't had time to buy **Icha Icha Distractions**! The last thing, of course, was what was bothering him the most.

I mean come on, it had been published few weeks after school started!

"Thank you for walking me up here, Kankuro-san", Hinata silently thanked, finally awake from her musings. She took the keys from him and opened the door without any trouble. Without a word she let him in and closed the door behind them.

Behind closed doors..

Sensing the melancholy oozing off of her, Kankuro thought of a way to take her mind off of whatever that was upsetting her. He walked to Temari's bed, sat down on his knees next to it and put his hand under the bed, trying to find the object he had hidden there during one of his surprise visits. The item was his favourite one, and he didn't want his roommate to 'borrow' it..

"A-ha!" he hollered in joy as he finally found his most precious item. Hinata turned to him, wondering what might have made him so happy. Kankuro quickly hid it behind his back and rose up to meet Hinata eye to eye, obviously very excited about something.

"Now, time for a bath, Hinata-chan! Come, this way!" Before Hinata had even time to look shocked, he had already pulled her to the bathroom and turned the hot water on. He started to silently hum to himself as he checked the shelves for bubble bath and scented candles.

Hinata could only stare.

"Wh-what – "

"Is the water hot enough?" The question came out so naturally Hinata found herself checking the temperature of the water before even realizing it herself.

"H-hai.."

"Good then, get in!" he said and poured bubble bath liquid from a small plastic bottle into the tub that now was half-full.

"A-ano.."

"There's enough foam to keep your modesty, right?" Kankuro said, grinned and them turned around. Though Hinata knew what he implied, she just couldn't –

"You know that if I tried anything with you Temari would kill me, right?"

'Just trust him, Hinata.. he's probably only trying to make you feel better. And now that I think about it, a hot bath might just be what I need right now..'

"H-hai.." she whispered, still embarrassed about what she was going to do. She thought about asking him to leave the room. Hinata even contemplated about it, but it would be rude. And he had promised – kind of – not to do anything, and had even turned around for her. Knowing Kankuro, it would be more like him to just throw her into the tub and be done with it.

So, she started unbuttoning her shirt.

* * *

'_She was crying.. she was _fucking _crying!'_

Ino was running to the school roof to – well, even she herself didn't know why, but there she was headed. Maybe Shikamaru would be there? He had muttered something about troublesome people when he had left the cafeteria earlier, and usually he went to the school roof when he wanted to be alone.

'Does she really love Sasuke that much?'

Never had the blonde seen Sakura cry – well, after the day she befriended her many, many years ago. What made things worse was the fact that they were roommates. They would have to see each other _every day_.

Just _perfect_.

* * *

The water was a bit too hot, but Hinata bit her lip and endured it. After a while it would cool down anyway. She glanced at Kankuro's back for the third time. Maybe it was alright to tell him to turn around?

"A-ano.. I'm alright now", she said – more like whispered, but the Sabaku heard her anyways. He turned around, holding a book in his hands. Sitting down at the edge of the bathtub he opened the tattered and obviously old book and started reading.

"To my dearest antagonist, who visits me every night in my –"

Hinata's hand flew to cover her mouth after letting out a shrill, scarily fangirl-ish, scream. She turned to look at the surprised man with wide eyes.

"H-how did you know?!" She asked and sat up, turning to look at him, completely forgetting that the only thing protecting her body from the naked eye was a thin layer of foam. Somehow Kankuro was able to move his gaze from her chest area to her eyes.

"Know what?" A wide smile graced Hinata's lips as she reached for the book he was holding.

"**Icha Icha Paradise**.. it's my _favourite_!"

* * *

"That damn Uchiha.. Going to get himself killed one day if he isn't careful.." Temari muttered angrily to herself, stomping up the stairs to her room: the elevators were broken. _Again_.

She unlocked the door and stepped inside only to see that the room was empty.

* * *

"..but this one definitely is my favourite. You know, the sun, the beach, all the.. well, you know.."

"Wow, so you've read all of them?" Kankuro asked, now sitting on the tile floor, his head on top of his hands that were on the edge of the tub. Hinata too was sitting, though still in the tub, and was facing him with a small blush on her face. Was it from the hot water or the fact that she was now freely talking about a _porn book_ with a _guy_.

"Not the latest one. I don't think I'll be able to read it in a long time since I don't think just anyone would buy it for me.." noticing the confused look on Kankuro's face she explained, "I'm underaged. And I'd be too embarrassed to ask anyone to buy me or even _lend_ one. It's a bit sad really, since I am a huge fan of Jiraya-sama's work." A mischievous grin appeared on the man's lips.

"I'm 19", he said, hearing someone enter the dorm room. He didn't miss the sparkle that had lit in Hinata's eyes.

"Would you really – "

"Sure, why not. But don't tell sis, she'd kill me.." the look of mock horror on his face made Hinata laugh out loud. Sure he might be a bit intimidating at first, but after talking to him few times she had learned that Kankuro could be everything one would hope to find in a friend. Someone to tell things to, someone to joke around with and to make you feel better when you're sad..

"Tell me _what_, Kankuro?"

"Uh.. that I promised I'd buy Hinata's drinks next Friday?"

Ignoring her brother completely Temari raised an eyebrow at Hinata who finally noticed that, being so excited that someone shared her interest in certain book series, she was sitting up straight in the tub thus the water lever wasn't high enough to come up to her shoulders anymore.

"Temari, I need the ke-"

With a small "eep" Hinata almost dove underwater when Gaara stepped into the bathroom. It only took two seconds for the redhead to move his gaze back to his sister.

"_Again_? Gaara, I _swear_ this is the third time this week you ask for my car keys! Why won't you walk once in a while? It might help you clear your head", the blonde shook her head as she walked to Kankuro who was still leaning on the edge of the tub, "Out, the both of you! Gosh, having perverts as brothers.. whatever did I do wrong?!"

Hinata didn't move until she heard their front door close.

"Sorry about them.. especially Kankuro. I wouldn't be surprised if I found him one day reading that Icha book Hatake Kakashi always carries around.."

Hinata hoped Kankuro had taken the book with him. If Temari one day found it under her bed all hell would break loose..

"Since it's Saturday, what do you say if we had a little slumber party? Just the two of us, you know, facial masks and stuff. I haven't done that in _ages_! And, oh, we could go buy you some new clothes! No offence, but the school uniform is.. not really popular these days. Well, what do you think?"

Hinata could only smile at her roommate's enthusiasm.

* * *

**1500**


	20. Home Truths

A/N:Some major Hina OOC:ness coming up !

* * *

_Chapter 19 – Home Truths_

**Saturday, 00.35 pm**

She had finally found Shikamaru: he hadn't been on the roof, but in his room. Frustrated about Sakura, confused about why she had searched the whole school for the lazy boy and annoyed that it had taken so much time to find him, she sat down on the boy's bed, then rose back up. When she started to walk in a circle, the Nara had had enough.

"Fine, what is it _this_ time?" he didn't expect her to jump down on the bed to sit next to him and start pouring all her problems on him.

Why did everyone always glare at him when he deemed something troublesome?

"I hate Sakura, she shouldn't have done that! But she was _crying_ for Pete's sake, and then she left and she's after my blood I know, then there's Sasuke – ugh, he's _so_ annoying! – who just fucking enjoys this fucking freak show! I can't keep up with them, I _hate_ – oh and that Gaara guy, I _swear_ he's stalking Hinata, I mean did you _see_ that time when.."

.. what is that if _not_ troublesome?

".. and I don't know _why_ I'm always seeking you out, but I do and you're _nowhere_! You're always with that Sabaku woman, doing God knows what. And you say _I'm_ troublesome.. look at her! She _hates_ people! Like that Neji guy who thinks he's all that – he's always been like that, but he's nice to Hinata, I don't understand why, I mean, she's like the heiress or something, shouldn't he be jealous of her? And then there's that creepy guy who wears green all the time, I heard he tried to hit on Sakura once, calling her a 'blossom of youth' or something like that. And Sakura was all like, get the hell away, but he just –"

"Would you shut up already?" Shikamaru finally decided to interrupt her blabbering: he was starting to get a headache.

"But-"

"I don't want to hear _another word_ from Sasuke fan number two. Don't you see what you've become, Ino?" The dumbfounded silence from the blonde's part lasted only few seconds.

"I'm _pouring my heart for you_ and you just shoo me away like a _fly_?!"

"Damn troublesome girl, you're telling me the latest _gossip_. If you don't have anything better to do, I suggest you leave. I'm getting a headache", Shikamaru said and even took the trouble of standing up from his bed, walking to the door and opening it for her.

"I thought we were _friends_", Ino whispered in disbelief, but nevertheless, stood up. If this was a movie, people would be on her side if she just walked away. And so she did, but just as she walked out of the doorway, he quietly answered her accusation.

"Friends tend to _listen_ once in a while, you know."

Her dramatic exit ruined, she turned to look at Shikamaru. She had never seen him look so.. _serious_. This clearly wasn't a matter to be taken lightly.

"Fine, I'll listen. You should have told me you had something to say instead of just keeping quiet."

"I didn't mean right now, Ino. But fine, whatever you want", he said, leaning on the doorway, the serious look never leaving his face.

"The Yamanaka Ino that I befriended wasn't like this. Sure, she pretended to like Sasuke and only ate her salad, but that was understandable: we all act differently around people. But when she started _hurting_ people, Hinata in particular, I felt like I had never really known her. And all this popular girl gossip thing, it has _got_ to stop. It's taking over you and you don't even notice. It will consume you, _all_ of you, if you're not careful. I say this just as a friend, Ino: stop pretending and do some damage control. In Hinata's case it's too late, but there's a possibility you might find yourself again."

Stunned, Ino stood rooted to the place for long after the door had been closed.

* * *

**4.26 pm**

"They started off as a regular gang, you know, with their jackets and all that. When they got to Junior High, strange things started happening around the campus. So nowdays when the final exams are found in a heap of ash, we all know who are behind it. Too bad that they always have alibis so they're never caught", Temari continued her tale of the most notorious gang in Konoha, the Akatsuki.

"What kind of things do they do? I mean, they do sound a bit.."

"Scary? Well, mostly they protest against a new regulation or make a move on a senior high girl, nothing serious. Once there was a situation where.. one teacher got killed." A silence followed the blonde's words.

".. and that's why the students got the common room to party in! Anyway, I think your cousin is more feared than the Akatsuki right now, since there's been a lot less commotion the last few years. But your cousin, no one really knows _what_ he does, but most likely he's _not_ watering the flowers next to the football field."

'_Darn, another touchy subject. What wouldn't involve her family's not-so-innocent business, dead people, Haruno, Yamanaka or the Uchiha boy?'_ Temari tried to think of a subjects she could freely talk about, without ending up telling depressing stories but could come up with _none_.

"Eh.. anyways, did you hear about the new TV show?" she tried again, not sure if there even _was_ a new TV show.

"I-it's alright, Temari-san.. I guess the school life consists of, well, school and.. Ino-sempai. Or something related to her. I really appreciate you looking after me, but you can't shield me from every setback", Hinata said, giving a small smile to the nervous blonde. She was surprised when she got a frown in return.

"Hinata-chan..", Temari stopped, put her shopping bags full of clothes down and gripped the younger girl's shoulders, making her look at her in the eyes.

"I _like_ looking after and taking care of you! You're.. like a sister to me. Let me play the big sister as well as I can, okay?"

"Te-Temari-san..", Hinata whispered in surprise at the words.

"Besides, you've been facing a misfortune after another ever since you transferred. I.. The same happened before, a long time ago.. to someone I held dear. He..", a faraway look took over Temari's face and moisture started to gather in the corners of her eyes when she remembered what happened ten years ago.

"He.. didn't.. It was too much for him", she finally said, letting her hands fall to her sides.

Hinata stood there maybe a second, stunned at the revelation. She hadn't known.. Then her instincts kicked in. She dropped her bags on the ground pulled the older girl into a tight hug.

"I'm so sorry.."

* * *

**5.52 pm**

After consoling each other both Hinata and Temari felt a lot better and were ready for the long hours of staying awake and do what girls do best: pamper themselves and gossip.

They had barely taken all of their new clothes, facial masks, body scrubs, nail polishes, bubble bath liquids – they both had agreed that the one they already had didn't create enough foam – few scented candles and chocolate when someone knocked on the door. Hinata, seeing that she wasn't surrounded by so high walls of mess, made her way to the door and opened it, kicking a few plastic bags out of the doorway at the same time.

"You were shopping? Troublesome, creates a huge mess.."

Temari's head jerked up from behind the mass of clothes when she heard the voice. She weaved her way to the doorway to replace Hinata who, to give the couple some privacy, zigzagged through the mess, shuffling with the dozens of plastic bags and tried to think of a place to put them so they wouldn't get in the way.

"Hi!" Temari greeted her fiancé with a peck on the lips.

"Yo. You.. ready?" he sounded a bit doubtful, seeing the state their room was in. He knew Temari, and though she was't one for polished surfaces and bleachers, he knew she wouldn't be able to live in that mess for long.

"Well..", the blonde started, quickly glancing at the still pondering Hyuga, "I'm sorry, I don't think I can.. you know, leave her alone.. sorry."

A sigh escaped Shikamaru's lips. He had walked up all the five stairs – and down two in the boys' dormitory to get to the ground floor – just to be ditched at the door. And just few hours ago he had lined up for the tickets..

"You didn't plan anything special, did you?" Temari asked, interpreting the look on his face.

"Plan? Temari-san, if you have a date you should definitely go", Hinata piped up, joining the private converstation. If her roommate had already something planned with her fiancé, she didn't want to be the one to screw that up.

"But.."

"We made a deal, didn't we, Temari-san? Now go and have fun! Don't worry, I won't eat you chocolate", she added, wanting to try out her new role as an kind-of adopted little sister.

"It's not the chocolate I'm worried about –"

"Good, because I'm getting hungry", Hinata said, wanting to see how Temari reacted. Laughter greeted her ears.

"Don't you dare touch my chocolate while I'm gone. Instead, you could try out the new bubble bath thing we bought. But without audience, please, it was kind of creepy finding you and Kankuro in that kind of situation."

Deep red appeared on Hinata's face.

"Where are we going, do I need to dress up?" Temari asked, still smiling at the younger girl's embarrassement. Shikamaru chose to ignore the strange converstation the two had had, and shrugged.

"I guess a little bit wouldn't hurt."

"Men", Temari muttered to herself as she went to find something to wear. Hinata, not really wanting to leave Shikamaru waiting out in the hall, opened the door more to show she allowed him to get in. He did, nodding a small thanks and leaning against the wall since there wasn't a free place to sit down.

Hinata closed the door and went to sort out her new possessions.

After five minutes of watching his fiancée dig through the pile of clothes, he started to feel a bit sorry for her.

"Just wear something you would wear to a ballet." Temari's head piped up at the word.

"Ballet? Sure, I've got one just here.. ta-dah!" she had pulled out a dark purple, semi-modest looking dress. Shikamaru nodded his approval and not a second later the blonde had shed her clothes. Hinata hadn't yet gotten used to Temari's sometime brash and impulsive actions, and turned the other way to give at least some privacy. Shikamaru didn't move at all: in fact, he was very much enjoying the view.

Hinata didn't turn around until she felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Temari, who was now wearing the v-neck, sleeveless dress she had bought just a couple of hours ago.

"We'll be leaving now. You sure you'll be okay?"

"Of course, I'm a big girl now", Hinata answered and laughed at the frown on Temari's face.

"Honestly, I'll be okay. You two have fun."

"We'll be late", Shikamaru said when Temari didn't move. The blonde sighed and let her fiancé lead her out of the room. Hinata had walked behind them, and she was already closing the door when another idea struck her. Should she try it? They always used that in TV shows.. Embarrassed at her own ignorance, she decided to give it a try.

"U-use p-protection!"

Temari's eyes widened at the words her roommate had bravely tried to shout.

"Oh my God, she did not.."

Though the shout hadn't been as loud as anyone else's, she was sure that their next-door neighbours, Hana and Ayame, had heard it. Why else would their door open slightly just at that moment? Giggles could be hear inside the room.

A snigger was Shikamaru's answer: even he found the situation hilarious. Temari turned around to see a red-faced Hinata still at the door. Playfully she threw her purse – small black one, quite old and the zipper of which wasn't working properly – at her roommate. Hinata's reflexes didn't betray her, and the bag hit the closed door, spilling all of it's contents on the floor. As she was picking up the items, Temari heard quiet giggling inside. A smile crept to her face.

'_Maybe I worried for nothing. Hinata's strong.. unlike father.'_

* * *

**2094**


	21. What Temari Is Capable Of

_Chapter 20 – What Temari is Capable of.._

* * *

After making sure Temari and Shikamaru were gone, Hinata went to sit on her bed. The room was still messy and she intended to clean it – Temari's domain too, so the older girl could go staright to sleep when she came back from her date – by starting off with the pile of clothes.

Not long after putting her clothes in their proper place, the wardrobe, she found something hard under the covers. Lifting it up, she saw an old, tattered book with an orange cover. A small smile rose to her lips; Kankuro must have left it for her to finish.

Hinata skipped the introduction and started reading the first chapter. The words she knew by heart already, but never got bored with.

_To have won the first prize was the best thing to ever happen to me. Sure, it caused me – and all the women – many heartbreaks, but the Paradise Island was all worth it.._

* * *

"So what show is it? The Russian with the swans and stuff?" Temari asked, barely able _not_ to skip along the road they were walking to the huge, white building. Though she didn't use the most sophisticated vocabulary, the blonde had always held an interest to ballets and operas. They were like a breeze of fresh air in a suffocating classroom, a welcomed change to her student life.

Still she couldn't believe Shikamaru had figured that out, bothered to get the tickets and actually _go_ and see the show.

"It's a surprise", was the only thing he said before entering the building. Immediately Temari noticed that something was amiss..

"Hey, if this is a ballet.. where are all the guys wearing tights and giving candy to kids?" A moment of silence ensued. Then, "That's why you like ballets? Seeing guys wear thights?"

Temari laughed straight out, earning few disapproving glances from the elder people who clearly were set in their ways.

"I'd like to see _you_ in thights.. think of it as my birthday present", was all the blonde said before skipping about to the coat hangers.

"Please let her be kidding.." Shikamaru muttered a plead to _anyone_ above before following his excited fiancée.

Though Temari didn't say it aloud, she was _sure_ there was something wrong. When they had passed a stand with the programmes, Shikamaru had quicky led her away to their seats, and she _still_ hadn't seen any young ballerina men giving out candy.

When the lights went out and the familiar music started, a shrill, excited scream was heard from one of the best seats.

"Kami-sama Shikamaru, how did you _know_!?" Temari whispered, completely focusing on the man sitting next to her. He had a slight smirk on his face as she fully kissed him before turning back to look at the stage.

Mozart's **Magic Flute** was her all time favourite!

* * *

"Damage control? Like, coming out of the closet and admitting I had a thing with Hinata? That would only cause trouble right now, to.. me. Right. What about her? Darn Shikamaru, if you're going to give me advice then at least tell me _what_ I should do!" Ino muttered to herself, walking in a circle in her room.

She hadn't seen Sakura since the cafeteria incident, and she had _really_ started to worry. Sure she was mad at her for attacking, but, to be totally honest, Ino knew she should have been prepared for it. After all, Sakura had liked Sasuke for _years_.

So, damage control. Maybe she should start off with Hinata.

* * *

"I _still_ can't believe you took me to the opera!" Temari said, her hand in Shikamaru's. Usually he wasn't very keen on the whole public affection thing, but complaining would only cause troublesome consequences.

"Last time I saw it was on TV, and that was like _years_ ago. Really, how did you figure it out?"

"You always get the same look on your face when you hear music from the opera", he simply answered as he accompanied her to the highest floor on the girls' dormitory.

Again, would someone remind him why he did such troublesome things for her like walking her to her room?

When they got to the fifth floor, Temari immediately recognized the person sitting opposite the room number 571. She turned to Shikamaru and bid him a quiet "'night" before walking to her red-headed brother. Gaara looked up at her, then glanced at the now otherwise empty hallway.

"Does he know?"

"About what?" The blonde sked, wishing that her little brother wasn't talking about the incident ten years ago.

"Your past. _Our_ past. Why we're orphans", he stated, his piercing eyes never leaving hers.

"No, and I don't intend for him to find out, at least anytime soon."

"He isn't a genious for nothing: he's going to figure it out sooner or later, and then you're in trouble.." the redhead reminded his sister, standing up. His original purpose wasn't to wait for her, but now that she was there he might as well bring her back to earth. The likes of them couldn't mix well with the scrupulous citizens.

"No he's not if you keep your mouth shut", Temari countered, fishing the keys from her purse. Her hands were visibly shaking at what had been said: that Shikamaru would certainly find out what had happened, why she had taken Hinata under her wing..

"What are you doing here anyway?", she asked, still fretfully rummaging through her bag.

"Nothing much.." she didn't believe him, not even for a second. Temari looked up at her brother who had his eyes on the door.

"Gaara, I _know_ you hate Hyugas – I despise them too, from the bottom of my heart – but Hinata.. she isn't that Hiashi person, she isnät plotting anyone's death! Leave her alone."

"She already has – "

"I don't want to hear it! What's in the past doesn't matter to me. Right now she needs my support and that's what I'm going to give her." At seeing the red-head's unfazed expression, Temari resorted to her last threat.

"Gaara, I mean what I say. No matter how much you mean to me, I'm not.. I'm not going to hold back if something happens to her. And you _know_ what I'm capable of."

"Whatever", was his half-hearted answer. He was still staring at the door which made the blonde panic even more. She tried to cover it up with a dark look, but knew he saw through it without even glancing at her.

"I can't forgive that Hiashi guy either, but you don't see me planning the whole clan's destruction, now can you? Gaara.. be the bigger person here. Please.. for my sake?"

The hallway was filled with suffocating silence.

_The only thing that could be heard was the strange cracking noise the fire made when it devoured their home and the two bodies inside.._

_**Flashback**_

_Father had been drinking, again. _

_Gaara listened to their mother cry out in pain as another bottle was thrown at her. No matter how many times his sister had begged for her to call the police, she never did. She had said something about a phase, a mistake, stress.._

_They all knew what was causing the stress. _

_Years ago their father had borrowed an unknown sum of money to start his life all over again, after an unpleasant event not even their mother knew about. Over time he had learned that with with the interest the sum was too high to be paid back in a lifetime and that's when the kind lender had turned into a vicious threatener. Nothing was safe, and bit by bit, everything the happy family had had, came apart. Their father lost his job, their mother fell sick, Gaara had been expelled from school for violent behaviour.. _

_And it all had come to this. _

_Gaara saw someone stir beside him. His sister, the hardworking 11 year old girl, had woken up to the sound of their mother's high pitched scream. Kankuro too was up, though usually it took more than that to wake him up in the mornings. _

"_Go back to sleep", Temari told them – though she knew Gaara never sleps - as she stood up and walked to the door which led into the living room. She turned back once to smile reassuringly to them, then quietly opened the door and closed it behind her. After all, this happened all the time._

_Another scream, but it wasn't their mother. It was –_

"_Mom!_"

_**Flashback**_

"Please, Gaara.. she's like a sister to me." It wasn't the tears or the tone of her voice, but the sad eyes which pulled him back from his thoughts. Without a word he turned away and left.

Temari watched his back, then sighed when he was out of sight. No matter how many years passed, it seemed like Gaara could never forget the sight of their mother lying on the living room floor with pieces of glass on her arms, cuts on her face and a kitchen knife embedded in her stomach.

After having seen it, Temari hadn't been able to stop herself from screaming. And seeing her father, her dear father walk closer with that look of a madman..

_**Flashback**_

"_Fa-father.."_

"_This way he won't get us, Temari-chan.. he won't be able to ruin our lives.." _

_She saw his gaze linger on the door behind her, the door to her and her siblings' room. Horror filled her at the thought of something happening to her brothers. Her dear, dear brothers.._

"_Now be a good girl and stay still, this won't hurt.. for long.." He grabbed another knife from the kitchen cupboard he was standing next to and pointed it at Temari. The girl let out another scream when the knife hit her on her left arm. She dropped down to the floor next to her mother, sobbing. Through her tears she saw her father rise his hand again._

"_Temari..chan.. get your.. brothers.. out.." Both father and daughter turned to look at the woman who had opened her eyes, still bleeding. _

"_Mom!" The woman involuntarily shuddered, her death was inevitably close and it was getting cold.._

"_Die, woman! Die before the Hyugas find us!" Before he had time to attack his wife again, he felt piercing pain in his abdomen. He looked down, only to see his only daughter, sobbing.. and gripping the handle of the knife that had just seconds ago been embedded in another body. _

"_You.."_

"_Nee-chan?" a silent voice made the blonde girl turn around, only to come face to face with her youngest brother. _

"_Gaara.."_

"_Okaa-san is.."_

_**Flashback**_

"..dead", Temari whispered to herself, trying to fight the tears. Finally able to find the keys, she slowly opened the door and closed it behind her. Seeing Hinata's peaceful sleeping face she felt better.

"I won't let let him hurt you, Hinata-chan.. I won't let _anybody_ hurt you anymore.."

* * *

**1811**


	22. Piece of Her Mind

_Chapter 21 – Piece of Her Mind_

* * *

**Monday, 8.55am**

Ino was already in front of English classroom five minutes until the bell would ring. Actually her first class was History, but the night before she had decided that it was – finally – the time to act. She was waiting for Hinata, and she wouldn't go to her class until the indigo-haired girl had heard her out.

"Last time I checked you had Asuma-sensei's History, not Jiraya's English, Yamanaka" a voice broke through her thoughts. She didn't have to turn around to know who had adressed her. It was the last person she wanted to see at that moment.

"What, are you ignoring me? I don't think that'll do any good to your reputati-"

"I don't give a fluing fuck, Uchiha!" Ino suddenly bursted, quickly turning around and facing the Konoha sex symbol. She was a bit surprised when he didn't seem to be taken aback by her change of heart.

"So Shikamaru finally talked some sense into you?"

A shocked silence filled the hallway since they were the only ones in it: No-one wanted to be early on Jiraya's classes and Sakura, who usually followed Sasuke like a puppy, hadn't been seen since the Ino-Sasuke kissing incident.

"You.. he told you?" Ino finally asked, still not believing what the Uchiha was hinting at.

"It would be least troublesome to just tell you that you're acting like a bitch", Sasuke stated, observing her face for signs that she finally understood what he had been doing since the Ino-Sakura showdown.

"Are you saying that _that_ was your way of.." Ino hissed at him, but her sentence was left unfinished since she didn't know excatly what call it.

"Showing you what kind of person you were turning into?" the Uchiha happily offered, a smirk plastered on his face for seeing her expression, torn betweed angry and confused.

"You –" Ino didn't get to finish her sentence for two people walked around the corner, their conversation filling the hallway.

* * *

"Let's do it tonight, okay? I'm sorry about yesterday, I had totally forgotten I had to take Gaara to the courthouse since the idiots keep piling every offence they can find on him. But anyway, tonight after school? At what time do your classes end? We could go see a movie before trying out the scented candles and – oh yeah, of course, how could I forget! – eat the chocolates before Kankuro hogs them all to himse-"

Hinata turned to look at what had caught Temari's interest so badly she had stopped in the middle of her sentence – that was a very rare occurence, the blonde could talk for hours – then wished she hadn't woken up at all that morning. Ino and Sasuke were all alone in the hallway, and, from the looks of it, had been engaged in an intimate conversation.

Temari quickly walked up to the other blonde and gave her the most withering look Hinata had ever seen. Sasuke had taken a step back, letting the girls sort out whatever needed sorting. The Hyuga hesistated only for a second before following her roommate to settle the argument – preferably before it even began.

"What do you want?" Ino asked, annoyed that the Sabaku would think her as the biggest threat to Hinata. Sasuke was there, too!

"For you and your loverboy to disappear from the Earth", Temari answered without hesistating, still glaring at the younger girl.

"Why does everyone automatically assume we're together?! We kissed – " Ino started, but her rant was interrupted by the only male in the hallway.

"Made out", Sasuke pointed out, not even glancing at them, and earned an angry look from Ino.

"We made out only _once_ –" the blonde tried to continue.

"Twice", the Uchiha corrected again, making Ino seethe with anger.

"Fine, me made out _twice_ and people assume we're dating! It's not true, I _hate_ that man, he disgusts me, -" this time the Yamanaka wasn't going to let Sasuke interrupt – correct – her anymore, and nearing the end she was almost shouting at Temari's face. Why was _everyone_ against her? Had anyone else been in the same situation, they would have done the same, right?

"You don't have to lie, sempai", a quiet voice interrupted Ino's rant. All three turned to look at Hinata who had her gaze on the floor. To Sasuke it seemed that this situation was turning into a cryfest, and he decided he'd rather be late for class than be part of it. He left as quickly and unnoticeably as possible, leaving the females sort the situation out by themselves. He didn't have a role in the whole mess – that's what he thought, anyway – and he wasn't going to hang around the three most troublesome females if he had an option not to. Sure, the new girl hadn't stalked him like a creep or threatened his life and manhood, but trouble seemed to follow her everywhere she went, thus earning her the top spot on his – and Shikamaru's – most troublesome-list.

Kami, how he _hated_ high school.

* * *

The silence was thick enough to be cut with a knife. Ino was angry, confused and in pain: she had only recently – thanks to Shikamaru, really – realized, really realized, what she had been doing. She had been faking it all the way and it wasn't acceptable. If she had been herself, Hinata wouldn't have gotten hurt. No-one would have gotten hurt. Losing a friend, a lover, would have been right only if it had been Ino, the real Ino, who had caused it. Instead it was the Sasuke fangirl #2.

Hinata silently glanced at Ino, then Temari. On her roommate's face she saw raw emotion, deep hurt. She was hurting even though she really had no part in this. But why? Was it something in her past that made her want to be involved?

"Hinata, I - " Ino finally started, her voice equivalent to a whisper, when the bell cut in.

Students slowly started to gather around the classrooms, wishing their teachers would be late, or – preferably – would not show up at all.

"We'll leave at six, okay? Put some of your new clothes on, I especially liked the blue shirt on you. We'll go see a movie, okay?" Temari began her chipper chatter and led Hinata to the English classroom door, pushing past Ino as if she was but air. Hinata was about to turn to look at Ino, but was pushed into the room which was now half-full of students. Hesistantly she sat beside a boy who was trying to hide a white puppy in his hoodie. She cast a final glance at the doorway and saw Temari drag Ino away by her ponytail she always had. Sighing, Hinata turned to look at the boy sitting next to her. Not realizing the girl would prefer to be left alone to her thoughts, he started the converstation.

"Hey, you're the Hyuga girl right?"

* * *

**5.17 pm**

For the rest of the day, Hinata had wondered what Ino had wanted to say. She hadn't seen the blonde since that morning and suspected Temari had got something to do with it.

'_Or not. No good comes with speculating over every little thing'_, the Hyuga thought as she walked up the stairs to her room. The elevators were broken – _again_. She was really starting to wonder if the school – campus, she reminded herself – janitor was just a legend. No one had claimed to see the person in flesh, and nothing ever got done.

'_Or the headmistress has spent all the school fund money on sake and can't afford to hire one.'_

Her classes had ended at three, thanks to the Art teacher Deidara who had 'accidentally' knocked some chemicals – no one knew how or where he had gotten those – over a small, bird-shaped clay sculpture he had molded himself in no more than five seconds. No need to say the chemicals reacted woth the clay and caused some sort of gas to fill the room. Their dissapointed sensei had dismissed them, muttering something scarily similar to "next time it will go _bang!_". After that Hinata went to the library to do her homework for the day. She definitely didn't want to go to the next Art lesson which, to her dissapointment, was the very next morning.

She entered the hallway of the fifth floor, and started to look for hey keys, not looking where she was going – she already knew how many steps it took to reach her room. What she didn't take into consideration was that there might be someone else using the same corridor. Before she bumped into the other person, however, she was brought to the present by a familiar voice.

"I though your classes ended at four."

Letting out a surprised gasp Hinata looked up at the redhead leaning on the wall opposite to the room 571.

"K-konnichi wa, Gaara-san", she greeted, "I was in the library doing homework. Were you looking for Temari?" To the girl's surprise, Gaara stared at her for a minute, as if searching for something in her eyes. Then he walked by her, heading for the stairs.

"Tell her I'm considering", he said before walking out of her sight.

"Considering what?" Hinata asked, in vain, for he couldn't hear her. Sighing she went to her original task, finding the keys. When she succeeded and opened the door, she was surprised to see another Sabaku in the room.

"Kankuro-san?"

The Konoha university student and self-declared pervert turned to her: he had been sitting on Temari's bed, reading something. Hinata couldn't see clearly what the book's front cover looked like, but it was dark blue and most likely the small, yellow dots were meant to represent stars. Somehow it seemed familiar, but she couldn't place the déja-vu like memory so she just shrugged it off as her imagination. But what had he been reading? Icha Icha covers were bright-coloured, but from their chat the other day Hinata had concluded that he read the seried more than he read school books. Had he found another subject that interested him?

"Hi Hina-chan!" he answered, closing the book and standing up. Hinata saw something shine in his eyes – excitement, perhaps – and steppedfurther into the room, closing the door behind her.

"A-ano, Temari will be back at six the latest –"

"It's you I wanted to see", Kankuro said, taking her hand – by now Hinata had gotten used to being touched by him though they still weren't especially close – and leading her to sit on her bed. The book he had been reading was hidden behind his back, Hinata wondered why.

"I wanted to give you something –"

"A-ano, it's not my birthday", Hinata quietly interrupted, wondering why he would get her a gift for any other reason. This earned her a gasp – a thing Kankuro seemed to do a lot to show how dramatic he thought the situation was – and a sad headshake.

"I know, Hina-chan, I know. Can't I get you something just because I want to?"

"O-of course", the Hyuga quickly answered, afraid that she had insulted him somehow, "It's just.. that I've never.." Another, this time accompanied with a head flying to his mouth, gasp escaped him.

"Your boyfriends never got you gifts?" Hinata blinked, then remembered that Kankuro didn't know of her sexual orientation. _'And I thought it was all over the school – campus'_ she corrected herself, once again.

"I've never had any –"

"Your father didn't approve of them?" A very un-ladylike snort escaped from Hinata.

"He couldn't care less even if I got killed!" Kankuro seemed to take her outburst as teenage angst.

"You've never been – " he probed deeper, and Hinata didn't dissapoint him with silence.

"Once. I was drunk and so was he. He was—nice enough", she blushed when she though about Naruto's brilliant smile, "but I had a girlfriend back then.."

If the Sabaku would have been drinking at that moment, he would have spurted it all out in surprise. Hinata had had a _girlfriend_? And, even more shocking – he had nothing against her having a girlfriend, it had just been a shock.. actually he liked the idea of her having a girlfriend – was that she had _cheated_ on her. _'Who is this girl and what has she done with Hina-chan?!'_ Kankuro thought, and Hinata interpreted it through the look on his face.

"Who?" he finally asked, after a long, uncomfortable silence Hinata had been afraid to break.

"I- I don't think – "but seeing the hurt look on his face, clearly asking if she didn't trust him, she cut herself off.

"Is she hot?" A moment's silence ensued. Hinata blinked a couple of times, then a small smile broke into her face.

"Yes, she is.. _was_. Or, well.. I mean, still is, but we kind of.. broke up.." At his questioning look she shook her head, indicating it was a long story. Still, she took a deep breath and started from the beginning – of course, leaving out her involvement in the Kunoichi Incident.

"I was bullied in Kunoichi because of my eyes, but then Yamanaka Ino transferred from Konoha.."

* * *

**2188**


	23. All About Us

_Chapter 22 – All About Us_

* * *

**Monday, lunch**

She hadn't been able to contact Hinata the whole day. Somehow she had always missed the younger girl walking past her in the hallways and during lunch she was nowhere to be seen. Ino was sure Temari had got something to do with it.

Sighing, she sat next to Shikamaru. Sasuke was nowhere to be seen and if Ino didn't know better, she would have thought he was hiding from the Sabaku. Ino had heard from Shikamaru – after a little of persuasion – that the older blonde had threatened him to leave Hinata alone. Since there was nothing she could do about the Hyuga, Ino decided to turn her attention to a more pressing matter.

She hadn't seen Sakura for two days and she was really starting to worry. They were _roommates_ for Kami's sake, shouldn't the pink-haired girl at least inform her that she was alright? All her stuff was still in their room, so she couldn't have changed rooms without the blonde knowing. Maybe she had gotten into an accident and –

'_Stop it! She's not that careless, even when angry.. she couldn't have..'_

"Don't worry about her", Shikamaru said quietly, not even glancing at her, "she grew up a lot while you were gone.. she's a strong girl". A sight escaped the blonde. Was Shikamaru still mad at her for pretending to be something she wasn't? Was that why he wasn't looking her in the eye?

"Then why would she cry and run away?" Ino asked, pushing the pieces of lettuce around her plate. Kami, how she _craved_ to taste the steak once again..

"She grew up and you didn't, Ino. When you came back it reminded her of things long gone. Her feelings of inadequacy, the will to bloom into a more beautiful flower that you could ever be. That's the reason she's chasing after Sasuke: she thinks that getting him would prove everyone that she's better than you."

Those truly were words of wisdom. Ino didn't understand why Shikamaru wouldn't speak up more often: it would make things a lot easier for everyone. Then, as if a lightning had hit her, she realized what he had meant.

"You want me to find her?!" A weary sigh was her answer before he stood up, his half-eaten plate of food weighing down his tray.

"I want you to _apologize_ to her." Seeing that the blonde was about to protest, he continued, "I don't care if you think it's not your fault. Sure, she's part of this whole mess too, but she's the one who needs it the most. Tell her everything and have no regrets. After all, she used to be your best friend."

And with that, he was gone.

* * *

Rest of the schoolday was blurry to her. She had pondered Shikamaru's words and knew that he was right. She didn't need Sakura to apologize to her, it was the other way around. Maybe they could set everything straigth and at least be in speaking terms when this all was over.

But was that more important than finding Hinata?

* * *

**5.32 pm**

"And when you came here, everything had changed?" Kankuro asked, placing his hand on top of hers. He was now sitting next to her, and hadn't interrupted her once, for which Hinata was grateful.

"H-hai.."

"You probably didn't know this, but before she transferred to Kunoichi, this Ino person was the queen bee around here. Every guy was after her, she was the envy of every female being.. and then she took in the Haruno girl who was bullied by everyone because of her large forehead.."

While listening to Kankuro's story, Hinata felt she started to understand what Ino was going through. Having gotten used to being on top of the hierarchy ot must have been easy for her to fall into the same mould she had been in since her kindergarten days.

"While she was away, the pink girl seemed to grow out of her silly crush with the Uchiha. But when Yamanaka came back, the rivalry continued as if nothing had happened. They both are pretending to be something they're not."

"Maybe..", Hinata hesistated, "maybe they don't know what else to be. It's the outside world, the environment that makes us what we are. When I go home for the Summer break, I always act the same way, no matter how much I've changed. I'm always afraid what otou-sama would do if he knew some of the things I've done.." A certain punishment would await her if Hiashi knew about her part in the Kunoichi Incident.

Kankuro, while trying to get to know Hinata, had forgotten what kind of a monster she had as a father. Though he had never seen the old man, the Sabaku was sure he was a frightening sight when angry. And when he threatened someone, he would follow through. He did ten years ago..

They woke up from their musings at about the same time, slightly embarrassed that they had so easily sank into their dark thoughts. Then, Kankuro remembered the reason he was in her room in the first place.

"Oh, yea! I almost forgot.. close your eyes!"

Hinata did as she was told, still trying to figure out what the occasion was. Then she felt Kankuro place something on her lap. It felt like a book.. Hinata opened her eyes and looked at the object.

The cover was dark blue and small, yellow stars were drawn randomly all over it. The title was written in a familiar, bright orange colour.

**Icha Icha Distarctions**

Her eyes widened, and she squealed in delight. She turned to the man next to her and hugged him in a fashion one might prefer to call glomping. After calming down, Hinata took a closer look at the book. Kakashi-sensei had had one, she had seen it.. but it had been orange. Why was this one blue?

She turned to Kankuro, but he just told her to open it and see for herself.

_Icha Icha Distractions, Special Edition!_

_Includes the author's commentary on the book and the writing process. _

And, just under the declaration was..

"Kami-sama, it's his _signature_!"

The brunet had hard time concealing his laughter at her antics. She was like a child in a candy store!

It had been pretty easy to get it, after all Jiraya was the English teacher and the vice pronciple of Konoha. Besides, the man had been too happy to oblige to Kankuro's request after hearing the book was for a _girl_. Well, a woman if you wanted to be a nitpicker, but at the moment she definitely didn't act like one, so Kankuro left it at that.

* * *

After two hours of searching for Hinata and Sakura, Ino realized she had wandered into the meadows few kilometers away from the buildings, but she was still inside the Konoha campus. The last time she had been there was the day she transferred to Kunoichi. This had been her – and Sakura's – favourite place. After all, they had first met each other here.

Ino wrapped her arms around herself, trying to keep warm. It was October already and she was still wearing a thin, short jacket over her clothes.

'_Just like a popular girl should..'_ she thought bitterly, suddenly hating the piece of clothing. It was dull brown with orange zippers. The colours made her want to gag, they were so lame. Violet and purple were her favourite colours but she hadn't had the change to wear any of those for they weren't _in_.

Finally deciding to head to the dormitories to look for Hinata, she turned around.

Only to come face to face with Sakura.

* * *

**1278**


	24. Apology

_Chapter 23 – Apology_

* * *

They had sat down, neither speaking a word. The Sakura tree they were sitting next to was, to them, as old as time.

"I hate your jacket", Sakura broke the silence, glancing at the blonde sitting next to her, then quickly looking away.

"Me too", Ino confessed and rose her eyes to look at the slouching figure that used to be her best friend. It was close that she didn't slap her and tell her to suck it up: she was Haruno Sakura for Kami's sake! Nothing should bring her down like that! Instead she took a shaky breath, preparing to say the words she feared would only disservice her. Sakura could spread it all ovet the school and –

'No, I decided I wouldn't care. It's not about me and my reputation anymore. It's about Hinata.. she's suffered enough because of me. And Sakura.. how did it turn out to be like this?'

"I'm sorry, Sakura-chan."

The pink-haired girl's head jerked up at the sound of her name coming out of the blonde's mouth. It had been so long since someone had said her name like that.. with sincere regret. She turned her eyes away, however, after noticing the observing look Ino gave her.

"I didn't know it mattered to you so much, Sasuke I mean. I was only trying to.. cover something up and it was the only way.." Ino drifted off, still looking at the other girl. Seeing that Sakura wasn't going to say anything, she continued.

"I'll tell you the truth. I owe you that much, Sakura-chan.."

Still half-mad at her ex-best friend, half thankful that she had made the first move to mend their broken relationship, Sakura stayed silent and listened.

"That time, six years ago, when I said I didn't like Sasuke.. I meant it. It hurt when you didn't believe me, so I.. started pretending to love him just to hurt you. A year passed and I had had enough, I couldn't take it anymore.. so I transferred. In Kunoichi I met Hinata, who was bullied and teased because of her eyes. She.. reminded me a bit of you. We were asiigned to the same dorm room and became roommates. As I learned more of her, I began to.. fall for her."

So it really _was_ true what Kotomi had told her.. Ino was a lesbian?

"We started dating. It wasn't common but neither was it frowned down upon in Kunoichi. I was.. happy. I was popular there, too, first for my looks and then because I defended Hinata against her bullies. I was even nicknamed the _Kunoichi Beauty_.. but something was amiss. I always wondered why I couldn't be myself outside the school walls. I couldn't make myself to be intimate with Hinata when there were guys around, I just.. I don't know, I guess I had learned to be ashamed of it from someone.

"Then, after five years, my grades started dropping. I was busy trying to fend off the bullies to study much, and they seemed to get more motivated all of a sudden. Especially Karin, she was the most vicious one. Then, just as I though things couldn't get worse, my father's business lost huge amounts of money. He had to borrow more somewhere and fast. Everything went okay for a while.. then the creditors started knocking on his door.

"The only one to comfort me was Hinata. She had been a victim of years of menatl abuse, and survived. She gave me strength, will to go on.. but I guess it just wasn't enough. When father heard of my grades and that I would have to repeat a year.. he went ballistic. Although I'm a year older than people usually on my grade, I can barely keep up with everybody. He.. made me transfer back here." Ino took a deep breath, for she was about to tell Sakura one thing that she hadn't fully accepted herself.

"When I came back, I saw you.. you had grown so much. I.. I envied you. I suddenly became jealous of whatever you had, including the popularity, your crown as the queen bee, and.. Sasuke."

At the boy's name, Sakura's head rose and her eyes glid slowly to Ino.

"So everything you've done.. pretending to be my rival in love.." the blonde nodded at what Sakura was about to say.

"I did it all because I wanted to be you."

* * *

**8.27 pm**

"I think that was.." Hinata started, but quieted for she didn't have the words for it.

"Gruesome, tasteless, degrading and completely traumatizing?" Temari suggested, still shivering from disgust.

When they had gone to the cinema, they had thought it would be fun to let the ticket seller choose the movie for them. After the first two minutes they had realized what kind of a movie it was: a total _guy_ movie.

Action, flying heads, icky monsters, and, naturally, a busty woman as the main female character. Well, as main as a woman in an all-guys movie can get: she was helpless, useless, and completely and overly everything a man could want.

"W-well, at least we have chocolate back in our room", Hinata tried to cheer her friend up. It clearly worked, since the blonde grabbed her arm and started running towards the main entrance of Konoha campus.

* * *

After warming bubble baths the two girls were giggling over something trivial while consuming as much chocolate as they could without throwing up. Five lavender scented candles were cast into different parts of the room, and without the light on they were the only source of light in the room.

"And did you see the guy few rows ahead and five seats to left? He was so into the movie that he didn't even notice when he's date left after the first five minutes – "

"The one who was drooling over the chick? I bet he's jerking off somewhere right now!" Temari's comment silenced Hinata for a few seconds, then she just let it go and joined in the laughter.

Without her roommate noticing, Hinata slid her hand under the cover she had used to warm her legs and stroked the cover of a certain book. She had wanted to read it for so long.. maybe she could sneak into the bathroom when Temari was sleeping. There the ligh wouldn't bother the older girl.

* * *

"Where have you been lately? I've been worried sick for you!" Ino asked as the two of them were walking back towards the campus. A huge weight had been lifted off of her shoulders when Sakura had not only forgiven her, but had apologized too. The rivalry was still there, thought, but now that they knew what the other was thinking they didn't have to be ready to attack each other.

"I spent the days shopping, the nights at Sasuke's", Sakura answered, wondering why Ino asked.

"What?!" Ino shrieked, stoppind suddenly at hearing the pinkette say Sasuke's name.

"Didn't Shikamaru tell you? He set it up, really. After I left the cafeteria he came to me and offered to arrange someplace for me to stay until we made up. I needed clothes and other necessities, so I went shopping and.. well, to be honest, I didn't even try to find you. I skipped school today because I thought I wouldn't be able to face you just yet."

"Shikamaru set it up? That fucker.. Kami, I _hate_ that man!" Ino muttered to herself, cursing the lazy male. And Sasuke! Had that been their way of making her worry so she would apologize to Sakura?

"They went through a lot of trouble for it, though", Sakura continued, ignoring Ino's burst of anger, "Naruto had to be roomed with someone else so I could have his bed. Temari found out that her brother's roommate was at some convention so he was sent there.. and I got to stay in Sasuke's room!" she finished off happily, almost skipping her way to the girls' dormitories. Seeing that her blonde companion didn't follow, she turned around to give her a questioning look.

"Aren't you coming?" Ino shook her head, a dangerous glint in her eyes.

"Someone is going to get it", she whispered murdeously to herself and stalked to the boys' dormitories. Sakura shrugged, not really caring – Ino wouldn't hurt them too badly anyway – and headed for their room to take a long, hot bath.

* * *

**1402**


	25. Aliases

_A/N: Few scenes from **Icha Icha Distarctions**. Don't be fooled, it actually has got EVERYTHING to do with this fic.. -mwahaha-_

_Chapter 24 – Aliases (rewritten)  
_

* * *

_**Introduction**_

_This book is based on a true story._

_The person who told me this trusted me enough to let me use it as a plot in this book. He hopes that his Yuki, wherever she is, forgives him for telling this and, if she ever was to read this, would speak to him again like she used to (described in the last chapter, in a flashback)._

_Personally I find this plot intriguing, especially when knowing only Hikaru's side of the story. Yuki, if you ever get the chance, fill me in on what really happened and if he was exaggerating anything._

_What is more, chapter seven is how I imagined things would go. I couldn't get the description because of alcohol's role in inflicting Hikaru's memory loss. Pre-appoved by him, I sincerely hope Yuki'll accept the described scene as a memory of that night._

_Jiraya_

--

**_Chapter One: 100 Reasons Why_**

_He lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling, wondering about her._

_The woman, the only one for him. The beautiful sunshine in his life, the source of his energy, the deep well he knew he would always drink refreshing water to drown his worries of scorching days. The beauty in the flesh, grace._

_She was never to be his for she loved another._

_A snort escaped Hikaru's lips at the thought. It wasn't love; it was lust, pure lust. Aoshi could never offer Maaya the love she needed, nor the security. And although his logical side had long ago deducted that she would become his, given enough time, his heart ached. She wouldn't notice him until she was left heartbroken by the ignorant man she called her future husband._

--

Hinata blinked in surprise. Although not completely void of 'normal' scenes, Jiraya-sama's books had always started off with smut, not.. reflections. She had hard time taking her eyes away – she was trying to get into the character's head – but finally, after few hours, closed the book with a thud, knowing she would stay up the whole night if she kept reading any longer.

Besides, she heard voices outside the bathroom.

* * *

A knock woke Temari up. Silently cursing she stood up, only to see Hinata's empty bed. Before she had time to panic, she noticed the light in the bathroom. The knocking continued, irritating the blonde even more.

"What do you want", she growled after opening the door and seeing who was on the other side.

Ino took a step back in surprise. Sure she had expected a gruff greeting, but she never knew Temari could send those murderous vibes just by looking at her.

"I.. I wanted to speak with – "

"She's sleeping. Come back tomorrow", the older girl muttered and was about to close the door but found something was put in the doorway to stop the action. She looked down, only to see Ino's foot. Growling at the back of her throat, Temari was about to kick it from the door's way.

"Thank you", Ino quickly said, attemping to distract the Sabaku from slamming the door on her face. The strange thing to say caught the sleepy woman's attention, and suddenly she was wide awake. She turned around to see the bathroon light still on, then grabbed her keys from the table next to the door, and stepped out of the room. Ino took few steps back to allow the woman out. Temari closed the door slowly, and only turned to look at the other girl when she heard a click of the door when it was locked up.

"For what?" she asked, indicating to Ino's strange words.

"For finding Sakura a place to stay. I don't know what would have happened –"

"Shouldn't you be mad at us for not telling you?" the older girl interrupted, looking at the Yamanaka suspiciously. So she had met the pinkette? Temari wondered if they had made up like Shikamaru said they would. At the same time she was proud of her fiancé - for helping out his friends no matter how troublesome it was – and little scared by his intelligence. If he had led the two girls to mend their friendship, he most likely wasn't far away from, more or less accidentally, finding out about her past. How far she had gone to protect her brothers..

"I already vented it out on Shikamaru and Sasuke", Ino answered, not noticing how tense Temari was, "and besides.. you'd probably forbid me ever seeing Hinata if I caused any trouble now".

Oh, so the troublemaker had brains? That was a surprise to Temari. Well, not the brain part – she had been able to undermine the rumours Sakura had spread, after all – but the fact how well the blonde actually knew her. Had it been Shikamaru, yet again, to tell her how to act around the eldest Sabaku sibling?

'_Ah, so he wants us to get along?' _Temari thought, a small smile touching her lips.

"Smart girl. Now scurry along, you can talk to Hinata tomorrow morning, say, nine-ish in there?" she inclined her head to the locked door behind her. Ino was about to thank her again, but was interrupted.

"Skip the whole day if you have to. This matter is more important than any class you'll ever go to."

* * *

**Tuesday, 08.25 am**

Temari had woken her up half an hour ago, telling her she didn't need to go to her classes that day. When Hinata had asked the reason - she was unsure about missing the English quiz they would have that day - the Sabaku had said something about a visitor. Before the Hyuga had had the chance to ask more, Temari was already gone.

Her gaze went to the book.

Last night she had read the five first chapters and was hooked. Maybe the person Temari had told her about wouldn't come _too_ soon?

--

_**Chapter Six: Falling**_

_Soon he found out that not even alcohol could make him forget about the scene. Maaya, _his _Maaya and Aoshi.. how could they?! There, in front of his eyes, the older boy had kissed her. Hikaru didn't care it was only to shut her up, didn't care that the blond boy had found her too clingy and disgusting.._

_He had _kissed _her!_

_Sighing, he fell on his knees on the ground. The two random boys he was drinking with were clearly in their own worlds: the usually silent one was muttering to himself about butterflies and the loudmouth had already found a girl to flirt with. Someone dropped on the ground beside him, as if to seek company._

--

"He was talking to a spider. And the other wasn't flirting with –" Hinata muttered to herself, then realized that the scene had woken some memories in her. Slowly she shook her head, as if trying to get rid of her thoughts.

'_It can't be..'_

--

_A comforting hand was placed on his shoulder and he turned to look at the girl. She was gorgeous, he had to admit, with her long, silky black hair and blue eyes._

--

Hinata exhaled in relief.

Yuki had blue eyes, so it couldn't be her. Besides, Hikaru had black hair and – _'but everything else matches'_.

She almost threw the book across the room, but calmed herself down. It couldn't be, just.. _couldn't_. Naruto wasn't that close to Jiraya-sensei, right? It could be coincidence. Or imagination.

But with every sentence she read, she sank deeper into her memories.

--

"_Thanks, Yuki-chan", he said, not really remembering when or where he had learned her name. She seemed to ba taken aback by the familarity he had addressed her, and blushed. Hikaru found her shyness cute, and watched in facination how the red on her cheeks contradicted with her pale skin._

_Yuki diverted her eyes, and he turned to look at the same direction._

_Her friend, Nana or something, was laughing at a joke his loudmouthed half-acquaintance had just told. The girl beside him visibly stiffened at the sight, and Hikaru could interpret the emotion on her face as the same he felt every time Aoshi went too close to Maaya._

"_You like Miku?" he asked, nodding his head towards the flirting couple. Yuki frowned, clearly confused as to why he would even suggest such a thing._

"_You looked at them with jealousy. I know that feeling.."_

--

Not able to take it anymore, Hinata slammed the book shut and threw it under her bed. She knew it was a childish thing to do, but how could she have dealt with it otherwise? The description was scarily accurate to what she remembered.

As her labored breathing slowed down, she couldn't help what wonder about the chapter seven...

* * *

**1451**


	26. Confessions

A/N: This chapter was very hard for me to write. I had planned to make this story NaruHina & SasuIno through this chapter, but then a certain scene came out so naturally I can't delete it. So, it'll be HinaIno.

My heart is bleeding, though; I just checked the Reader Traffic thingy.. there are **SO MANY visitors**, but, so far, **not one review** for chapters 18 and 20-25. Sure, it'd be a waste of time to review an old chapter (coughnotcough) but, guys, how would you feel if you got, for example, 76 visitors for one chapter, and NO reviews at all? I'd rather just think no-one reads this, personally. And to think, I'm 150 sure, if this was a NaruHina fic.. or SasuHina! Wow.

I'll most likely delete this A/N when I realize how **utterly pathetic** this is. **I don't want to get reviews by threatening or begging** - that one I realized after someone mentioned thay only reviewed because I PLEADED - **but because readers want to let me know they're there and that this fic isn't a complete waste of space.**

For those who have reviewed, I want to send a **BIG BAG OF HOMEMADE APPRECIATION** - because cookies are overused xD.

I used to read fics, Alert them if I felt like it and leave it like that. Now that I know how it feels like not receiving any - **and here I am exaggerating, I have got 21 wonderful reviews!** - comment or feedback, I have tried to comment every fic I've favourited/alerted, even if just to remind the author that **someone does care**. And really, in my case at least, a writer wants - no, _**needs **_- feedback, be it full of correctiong wrongly written words / grammar mistakes or deeper pondering about the characters' background, thoughts, values.. though the latter ones are always loved!!

Do know that I hate writing author's notes' because it takes space from the actual fic and the word count gives a falsified image of the length of the fic. (And that's the only reason I'm not giving an own chapter to this A/N.)

Thank you.

* * *

_Chapter 25 – Confessions_

* * *

He _knew_ she had been avoiding him. He didn't know why, but it bothered him greatly.

Which was kind of a shock to him, since he was rarely bothered by anything; Sakura's abuse, Sasuke's superiority complex, Ino's ignorance, Shikamaru's laziness, Gaara's unquenchable hatred..

Yes, he knew Gaara. They had been in the same orphanage when they were nine years old. The redhead had been a loner, just sitting in a corner.. until his sister came for him. From what he had learned later, Temari had fought with all her power to get her baby brother back from the social workers. She had gotten a job, at only 12 years old, and went through a self-taught course on law to become a temporary councel for the defence for their cause.

She had pulled through and _that_ was why even the great Hyuga Neji was wary of her.

Back to his original promblem: Hinata had been avoiding him. She hadn't even turned up for English!

"Naruto, are you alright?"

"Huh?" he turned to look to his right and saw Sakura looking at him, a slightly worried look in her eyes. She rolled her eyes at his unintelligent answer and repeated her question.

"Yea, just thinking.."

'_About what?'_ Sakura wondered, but didn't say anthing since she was asked to hand out the quizpapers. She rose up from her chair, cast a final, observing look at the blond and went to get the papers.

Now that Ino wasn't an imminent danger to her reputation, she could move more freely.. and, bit by bit, let go of Sasuke. It might be too late though, seeing that Naruto was already forgetting her and moving on.

Who could he have thought about so intensely he had almost ignored her?

* * *

"_No, I like Nana.." Hikaru's eyes widened at her confession, but she didn't seem to notice. "We're kind of an item at our school, but when we're in public.. she seems to forget it. Maybe she's ashamed.."_

"_So that's why you were so possessive of her? Looks like she's flirting with Miku, though.."_

"_No", Yuki whispered, shaking her head. Hikaru couldn't but help think that, in her denial, she looked more beautiful than ever. Without even noticing it himself, he draped him arm over her shoulders in a comforting manner. _

_Denial. It was so familiar feeling to him. _

_Yuki rested her head on his chest, enjoying the warmth their bodies shared. Her eyes were closed, she seemed to forget where she was, who she was with.. and Hikaru couldn't resist it anymore._

_He kissed her._

* * *

After she had thrown the book away she had had to get it back, just to make sure. It could be conincidence. It could be just her imagination, -

A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts.

When she opened the door, it took her mind two seconds to register who stood on the other side.

"May I come in?" Ino asked, not looking Hinata in the eye. The Hyuga almost had the mind to tell her to go away, but hesistated. Temari had told her someone was coming, and it clearly was Ino. Was this the older girl's idea, to try to mend the broked relationship? If so, then why had she been so anti-Ino the whole time?

Not trusting her voice to answer, Hinata nodded and sidestepped to let the blonde in.

"Thanks."

Realizing that she would have to take the initiative, Ino turned to the other girl who had just closed the door behind them. Her strong will, however, had withered to a tenuous thought and it was hard to find the right words.

"Hinata, I –" her words left her. There was nothing she could say, was there? The dark-haired girl hadn't even turned to look at her!

"If that's all, I'd appreciate it wery much if you left."

That tone wasn't Hinata's. That demeanour wasn't Hinata's. It wasn't like her to let venom into her voice, in _any_ circumstance. This was not the Hinata she knew. And she had done this. This was all her fault. Just for power, just for her selfish whim to take Sakura's hegemony. She had broken her. Her friend, her supporter, her.. _lover_.

"I'm sorry!"

It took a moment for Hinata to realize that Ino had, for the lack of a better word, _glomped_ her.

"I'm so sorry, Hinata. I never intended.. I never wanted.. When I came back here, Sakura had turned into someone else, someone I didn't know and I.. I didn't know her! She was.. different. Mature, somehow. And I was still the same. I thought that if.." Ino quieted down. Then she loosened her grip on the younger girl and spun her around to meet her face to face.

"There's no excuse for what I've done to you, Hinata-chan. I'm here to apologize."

'_Cerulean blue..'_

"Hinata, you don't have to forgive me, not yet. I just –" then Ino realized how close they were. Hinata was leaning against the wall next to the door, her hands close to her heart. The was a dazed look in the Hyuga's eyes, she hadn't broken the eye contact once since having been spun around.

".. want you to.." unconsciously she leaned closer and gently buried her right hand into those silky indigo locks. A pale hand rose to Ino's face and softly traced the cheekbone, slowly gliding downwards to the older girl's lips.

'_.. I just want you to hear me out..'_

This was how things had used to be. This was how their fights had always ended. Getting close.. closer..

".. kiss me."

Hinata hesistated. She didn't want to ruin the moment, but there were a lot of things Ino should know if they ever were to get back together. How she had cheated on her with Naruto, who was the culprit behind the Kunoichi Incident..

"There's.. something you should know", Hinata whispered, her eyes flickered unvoluntarily to Ino's lips.

"I don't care", the blonde whispered back and leaned in even closer. Before their lips finally met, three silent words were muttered out for the younger girl to hear.

"I love you."

Hinata's eyes fluttered open as the meaning of the words registered in her mind. Ino felt her stiffen and involuntarily broke the kiss. Their eyes met. Hinata pushed herself away from the wall, walked to her bed and sat down. Ino plopped down next to her, looking at her questionly.

"You should know that –"

"I said I didn't care", Ino answered, inching closer. She still hadn't been able to taste Hinata properly and, after being reminded what she had thought she had lost forever, she was getting impatient. Hinata shook her head and put her hand on Ino's shoulder to keep some kind of distance between them. It was a mistake on her part, for the contact made her want to pull Ino close.

"The last time we went drinking together, one year ago, we met.." here she hesistated, "Naruto.. and few others." Ino nodded to show she knew what Hinata was talking about.

"I didn't go home that night."

A silence, then, "I know.."

"You do?" Hinata asked, dropping her hand from Ino's shoulder in surprise. The blonde nodded and made a face, "It was kind of obvious.. I mean, I acted like an ass and Naruto was depressed about Sakura. Besides, after Naruto saw you he put two and two together and remembered seeing me that night with you. He told me what happened that night."

"You.. don't hate me for that?" Hinata asked quietly, looking away. Ino's answer was to pin her down to the bed and kiss her passionately. When she came up for air she could only giggle at how out-of-breath Hinata looked.

"Don't tell me you're _that_ much out of shape."

"Not my fault you've done so much training lately", Hinata fake-retorted, pouting. The teasing look on Ino's face changed, however, and she sat up, letting the girl under her do the same.

"I'm sorry, Hinata. At that time I didn't know what else to do, he just kept coming.."

"And refusing him would have destroyed everythng you had worked for. I understand." Ino sighed in fake dissapointment.

"You're supposed to throw pillows at me or something, Hina-chan. People will take advantage of you if you always understand", she lectured.

"Oh, shut it, you", the Hyuga commanded and, to Ino's surprise, pounced on her.

It didn't take long for their lips to meet. As if in silent agreement they both slightly opened their mouths. Finally able to taste Hinata, Ino purred in delight. The younger girl giggled softly and in one swift move pulled out the hairband keeping the blonde's hair in a ponytail.

"Haven't I told you to keep your hair down?" Hinata asked in-between the fiery kisses, barely having time to breath.

"Hmm", Ino agreed, "and that I should do so only around you."

"Well", the indo-haired girl kissed her chin, then continued downwards to her neck and lower, "I am a jealous type of person." Ino gasped as she felt Hinata bite her neck. She was clearly marking her.. but oddly, even though this was a new kind of experience, the blonde didn't mind at all.

"Ino..", Hinata said after some time of sucking and licking, rising her head to look at the blonde in the eye. She looked so vulnerable, so unsure that Ino wanted nothing but hold her tight.

"Promise me.." they both sat up, and Ino took Hinata's hand in hers to encourage her to contine, ".. promise me you'll never leave like that again."

"Hinata, I promise I'll never, _ever_ leave you again", the blonde whispered and draped her arms around the younger girl.

"I'm so sorry, Hinata. I know apologizing won't make the pain go away, but I promise you, here and now, that I'll never cause you such pain again." Shyly Hinata hugged her back, enjoying the warmth their closeness gave her.

"Hinata?" Ino asked after a while, "Will you promise me something?"

"Promise what?" the dark-haired girl asked, rising her gaze to meet Ino's. She didn't expect to be pushed down onto the bed and find herself short of a shirt in a matter of seconds.

"Never wear clothes when we're alone."

* * *

**1700 words.**


	27. Shikamaru's Speech

_Chapter 26 – Shikamaru's Speech_

--

_"Prejudice not being founded on reason cannot be removed by argument." - Samuel Johnson_

--

Hinata almost giggled at the clearly frustrated look on Ino's face, but held her silence. In-between kissing and caressing each other they had talked things through and were – more or less – on the same page on what they were going to do in the future. But, as it had became very clear during the two last minutes, Ino was _still_ struggling with the button-up shirt she was wearing. She had confined in Hinata that she absolutely _hated_ that shirt – mostly because it was muddy green, but that she now had another reason to hate it: the troublesome buttons!

A beseeching look was directed at Hinata. With an exaggarated sigh the dark-haired girl sat up to unbutton the shirt as Ino kept her eyes on her face – her lips, to be precise. It didn't take long for the much calmer girl to finish the job and slip the offending piece of cloth from the blonde's shoulders. In a matter of seconds Hinata was back on her previous position, laying on the bed, with Ino on top of her.

"Damn you look so delectable", Hinata muttered, staring. Ino grinned in delight for having made the other girl curse. It was a very rare occurence, and the blonde had come to learn it meant the younger girl wasn't thinking what she was saying anymore. And _that_ meant a more uninhibited, more spontaneous Hinata. She leaned in closer to whisper in her ear.

"Then taste me."

Hinata vacillated only for a second between what her brain and heart were saying, then though, _'what the hell'_ and let her instincts take over.

--

"Where the hell could she be?" Sakura muttered, annoyed that Ino had yet to appear for lunch. From what she had heard, the blonde hadn't been seen the whole day. Was this the revenge for making her worry earlier when Sakura had gone missing? Then she realized that if someone knew where Ino could be it'd definitely be Shikamaru. He had arranged a place for the pinkette to stay, too.

"She has to do something she's postponed for a long time", was the genious's answer to the unvoiced question. Sakura huffed in annoyance at the lack of explanation and turned back to eating her salad.

"Do some_one_, you mean", Sasuke muttered so quietly that even Shikamaru, who was sitting next to him, almost didn't hear him. It was probably meant that way, anyway, so the pineapple-hairdo didn't comment. Naruto, who was sitting oppisite from the black-haired heartthrob, wasn't as considerate.

"Do someone? Doesn't that mean, like –"

"Shut it, Naruto!" Sakura yelled, out of habit, before even realizing what the blond was referring to. A thoughtful look appeared on her face as the facts finally sunk in.

Ino was most likely with Hinata. They had had a relationship before. So, to _do _someone..

Even thinking about it was too weird, so she just shook her head to get rid of the mental image.

"But who could she be doing?" Naruto insisted, not having been filled in with as much info of Ino and Hinata's complicated relationship as the others.

"What, you _really_ don't know, usuratonkachi?" Sasuke asked, annoyed at how blind his friend could be. Wait, how could anyone so idiotic be _his_ friend?

That seemed to shut Naruto up. Then, with a muttered "I'm not hungry" he left the cafeteria.

"What – he's not _hungry_?" Sakura asked herself, and before even noticing it herself – it seemed to happen a lot lately – she was already running after him to check if he was alright.

Shikamaru and Sasuke finished their lunches in silence. Chouji had mysteriously disappeared, too, though both of the boys knew the most likely reason was that Ino hadn't appeared for lunch either.

"Hi guys! Where's Sakura?" a happy voice chirped from behind them. Neither needed to turn around to know who the newcomer was.

"She was looking for you earlier", Sasuke just said as he stood up. He was about to grab his tray too, but from the corner of his eye he noticed someone standing next to the perky blonde.

"A-ano.. arigato gozaimasu!" Hinata said, bowing, addressing both Sasuke and Shikamaru. Ino tugged at her sleeve to signal her to stop being so formal. She'd have to get used to the Hyuga's impulsive courteous behaviour around people – _again_.

"That is, I know for a fact that Ino-sempai wouldn't have come to talk to me if you hadn't done anything about it", the indigo-haired girl explained, a small smile tugging at her lips when seeing the blonde pout at her words.

"Hina-chan, that's not true!"

"Yes it is. You lack initiative, sempai."

"Don't call me that! It makes me feel old.." another pout. This caused the younger girl to laugh out loud, something she didn't do often, especially in public places.

"You _are_ old, _sempai!_"

She got a huff, then a quick peck on her cheek as her reward.

"Would you look at that! I _told_ you she likes girls.. that Yamanaka, look how _disgusting_ she is, fooling around with that Hyuga loser.." In a matter of seconds Ino found the source of the pretended whisper, her good mood complately gone. She had already taken one step towards the speaker, Kamato Kotomi, when a gentle but firm voice stopped her.

"Ino-chan, it's not worth it."

In the corner of his eye Sasuke saw Shikamaru take a deep breath. _'So this is going to end up in a fight, huh?'_ When Ino actually stopped, the Uchiha couldn't believe his eyes. The blonde who was the numer one public nuisance _backed down_? Man, she was _so_ whipped!

"It's not going to be solved by talking, Hina-chan", Ino said, still hesistating. A small smile, then: "We can always try." The blonde still didn't believe her, but let her walk past to Kotomi.

"Kamato-san.. please leave us alone!" all this was said with a low bow. Two seconds, and when there was no answer Hinata stood up straight, only to feel something wet on her cheek. The ex-Kunoichi had spit on her.

"How dare you, you freak! Yamanaka could have been something, but you.. you destroyed her life with all your plotting and – "

"Troublesome girls and their troublesome fights.." Shikamaru said, sighing, and took a step forward. He signaled to Ino, who had managed to get close enough to Kotomi to punch her face, to leave. Grudginly the blonde led Hinata away from the crowd that had gathered around them, hugging the younger girl the same time.

"Does it really matter how conventionally compatible your bodies are if you love each other?" the lazy genious began, and Sasuke understood why he had sighed earlier. He had known he'd have to step in and, by the looks of it, make some kind of speech.

In Shikamaru's words: troublesome.

"You think I don't know what happens in the girls' locker rooms? You all prance around, openly staring at each other, measuring, comparing yourselves to others and use every possible excuse to touch each other! But when two people do that _out of love_, it's _disgusting_?!"

"And what comes to gay men, when _they_ kiss you – all of you – start drooling and declare it's the hottest thing you've ever seen! Kami-sama, what _hypocrites_ you girls are!"

"People can't choose who they fall in love with. If you are _so_ close-minded that nothing out of the so-called norm is not, in your opinion, acceptable.. you're even _more_ troublesome than Ino and Temari added together!"

Silence filled the cafeteria. It wasn't so much because of the message, but because Shikamaru had bothered to get into the middle of a fight.

"Besides, I think it's hot", Sasuke said off-handedly, ignoring his friend's groan of annoyance.

"I went through the trouble of opening my mouth and you undermine all the effort by saying a sexist comment like _that_? Geez, thanks."

"You're welcome", the Uchiha answered with a small grin.

Sure, Shikamaru's speech had been great and all, but he knew it wouldn't be enough to get the message through. If the genious hadn't known that before, he sure did now: the girls that had gathered around them were now glancing at each other, all thinking the same thing.

'_If Sasuke thinks it's hot..'_

--

**1373**


	28. Chapter Seven

_Chapter 27 – Chapter Seven_

* * *

_**Chapter Seven**_

_She giggled when he fumbled with the apartement keys. The alcohol had gone straigth to her head, making her world spin. She had to lean onto the wall next to the door just to remain in a standing position._

_Finally the door opened, and Hikaru stumbled in. Yuki followed him quickly, knowing she would fall down soon – and she did, on top of the black-haired boy whom she had known for only a couple of hours._

_And already she was in his apartement._

_As if finally realizing that this was the first time he had had a girl in his home, Hikaru sobered up a bit when he fell down on the floor with her._

_"Maybe we should just go to sleep - "_

_"No!" Yuki declared and hugged him tight. She wanted to be close to someone. She had completely forgotten Nana, who was, most likely, looking for her. Or still laughing at Miku's jokes.._

_Yuki frowned. She was supposed to not think about her!_

"_No?"_

_Waking up from her thoughts, she shook her head. She didn't want to sleep, not yet. Besides, she was perfectly comfortable where she was, jacket, shoes and all. _

_Now that she was deep in her thoughts, Hikaru had time to try to clear his head._

_They were alone. In his apartement._

_Somehow, Maaya's face didn't pop up into his mind. All he could think about was Yuki, her soft, pale skin and those wide, light blue eyes looking up at him.. Without knowing it himself, he had pressed his lips against hers._

_To his surprise – and joy – she didn't push him away. _

"_Hikaru.." she whispered, and closed her eyes, trying to keep tears at bay, "onegai.. make me happy."_

_His alcohol-infected mind didn't understand her plea, neither did hers. She just wanted to say something, to ask for something, to become happy again. Lately everything had been piling up on her._

_The bullying. Nana's grades that had been dropping drastically. Her mother's clear dislike of everything she did. Nana ignoring her whenever they were outside the dormitory. Her sister's taunts and brother's overprotectiveness. _

_She wanted release._

Anything.

_She slowly opened her eyes and met his. _

_Cerulean blue._

_Their lips met again, this time in frustration. What was it that made them want each other so badly? Why did she feel like melting every time she looked into his eyes? Why couldn't he keep his hands off of her enticingly pale skin? Why did the kisses burn them alive, leaving them only thirsty for more?_

_The next thing Hikaru knew were her cold hands on his back, pulling him close. She felt his lips on her neck, whispering sweet nothings to her. A moan left her already dry throat. Cold air hit her stomach, legs.. She was cold anywhere he wasn't touching her. Guided by pure instincts their clothes were stripped off, one item at a time. Her heart raced, her breathing became laboured; he was so close.._

_Black._

_She could still feel his lips, so strange but somehow so _right_ on hers, his touch on her skin, filling her with emotions familiar but still new to her, and the only thing she could think of was him, the lust, the passion.._

_Him filling her._

* * *

**November 12****th****, Friday**

Everything had changed.

Now that she had almost the same homework Ino had, they could do them together. After the comment Sasuke had made, no-one had thrown one insult their way. Neji hadn't been seen for a while, but Hinata had gotten used to it. It had been hard, at first, to know that the cousin she once knew was no more. Or never was, actually.

She really didn't know what to think of him, so she dismissed the topic altogether.

She had finished the book. She hadn't spoken to Naruto, though: it would feel like cheating on Ino again. She had decided that chapter seven was enough for her: a memory of losing her virginity. She needed nothing more from Naruto, not while she had Ino.

Temari and Ino were still wary of each other, but got along for her sake. Hinata was glad they weren't as antagonistic towards each other as they used to be.

Ino's friends, the popular group, had taken her under their wing. Sakura was polite, Shikamaru treated her as he'd treat any other girl – excluding Temari, of course – and Chouji had become a dear friend to her. Sasuke was kind of distant still, but the others said he was like that with everyone so Hinata tried not to be bothered by it too much.

Naruto was wary of her, though. Probably because Ino had, at one point, had a private chat with him – most likely about what had happened a year before – but it still made the Hyuga uneasy. He had become more silent, and it worried them all – Sakura the most. She was always fussing about his eating, if he had done his homework – he never had – and had even tried to break into his room to find out if he had a diary once.

As usual, Shikamaru and Sasuke weren't surprised one bit when this was found out.

"Finally", the gloomy Uchiha had commented.

"Might be too late though", Shikamaru had muttered, then declined to say anything more.

* * *

"So, are you going?" Ino asked, sitting on the carefully made bed in room 571. Her eyes followed the younger girl who was still writing her English essay that Ino had finished ten minutes earlier. To keep her hair out of her face as she wrote, Hinata had borrowed Ino's purple scrunchy.

"I don't know.. I still have to write this for Monday, and then we have the – "

"Come on, Hina-chan, you know those are just excuses! Let's go, just this once, okay?" The blonde asked, almost bouncing on the bed from excitement. It had been weeks, if not _months_, that she could go drinking without anything bothering her. Besides, no matter how hard she had been on Naruto – the threat to cut his private parts if he got too close to Hinata might have been a bit too much – Ino didn't want to see him as depressed as he had been since that talk.

Hinata's eyes met hers.

"Well, this is almost finished and – "

"Yay!" Ino screamed – Hinata hoped their neighbours weren't sleeping, it was ten o'clock after all – and jumped up from the younger girl's bed. She then ran to the wardrobe and began digging.

"Ino-chan, I hope you're not doing what I think you're doing.." having said that and not getting a response, Hinata took few wary steps towards the other girl.

"Ta-dah! Remember this? You wore this on Valentine's last year. It looked so gorgeous on you! No-one's going to be able to get their eyes off of you!" The blonde had pulled a deep blue dress from the wardrobe and was swinging it around in front of Hinata, as if daring her to oppose her.

"After that you told me to _never_ wear it again, Ino-sempai" Hinata said, a teasing smile on her lips.

"Well.. I want to see you in it again", Ino ignored the suffix and held the dress out for the younger girl to take. Seeing the Hyuga's hesistation the blonde thrust it, the hanger included, at Hinata's arms.

"Don't you think it'd.. gather unwanted attention to us? We've been allowed to be ourselves up till now, but –"

"Jeez! Hina-chan, that's why we have friends, don't we? Shika could always make another speech – scratch that, it wouldn't work – or Sasuke could make another comment", seeing almost imperceptible frown appear on Hinata's face – most likely due to what had happened between the blonde and the Uchiha on more than one occasion -, Ino went to correct, "or we could keep him out of this, of course."

"What are _you_ going to wear, then?"

Happy that the Hyuga hadn't needed much persuation, Ino winked impishly, "You'll see then".

Muttering something about troublesome blondes, Hinata went to the bathroom to change while Ino went to her own room to choose her outfit for the night.

* * *

The group was ready almost two hours later.

Sakura had had trouble finding just the right outfit and had dragged Naruto, out of all the people, to help her. When he wasn't brooding, he actually had a really good taste on clothes – when he wasn't choosing his own clothes, at least. The pinkette was skipping all the way to the meeting place, half-dragging the blond boy by his hand.

Sasuke had appeared almost right after the two arrived, not really surprised when Sakura didn't cling to his arm right away. When she finally did, one look from him was enough for her to let him go.

Shikamaru got there fifteen minutes later with a deep-in-though Temari in tow. She had seen Hinata's dress and was worried that it might draw too much attention – not that it'd be a big problem, with her, Shikamaru and Sasuke on her side. The blonde herself was wearing jeans – it was November, after all – with a long-sleeved, blue pullover. On top of that she had her winter jacket and black boots. Her hair was up in her usual, four-ponytail style.

Sakura wore a forest-green dress with pink high heels. The small bag hanging from her shoulder was a shade of green that matched her eyes perfectly. On her wrists she had different coloured bracelets. Her jacket was black and so long it reached her knees and thus hiding the dress completely.

"Sorry we're late!" Ino yelled her apologies already 20 meters away from them, running hand-in-hand with Hinata. Her long, blonde hair was braded, as was Hinata's.

Temari almost commented on the unsuitability of Hinata's dress with the weather, but held her silence. The girl was absolutely radiating, and it wasn't a mystery to the group exactly _why_ the two were late.

"A-ano", Hinata said, out of breath from the long run, "where's Akimichi-kun?"

"Said he had homework to do", Shikamaru said, kicking the ground – he really didn't want to be there, but Temari had dragged him out of his bed where he had been happily dreaming away about spring and summer when he'd be able to watch clouds peacefully drift by..

"A-ah, alright.."

"Then, let's go!" Ino chirped, taking the lead and walking out of the school gates.

* * *

_His head was hurting like hell._

*

His heart was hurting like hell.

There she was, happily smiling at the other girl. They had been all over each other ever since they opened the first cider. Actually, even before that. They had forgotten everyone else, didn't bother even acknowledging the whispers their actions caused.

To think that he had had a chance with her, long time ago.. And he had missed it. He hadn't even realized, back then, what he had meant to her. And now, when he really started noticing her, it was too late.

Darn life. Darn hormones.

Darn _emotions_.

*

_Her cerulean eyes looked up at him._

* * *

"Naruto-kun, are you alright?"

Hinata had become worried about the blond: his brooding was identical to Sasuke's, which was quite an accomplishment for the hyperactive boy. Ino was off talking with Sakura – probably about their friendship and their new approahes to Sasuke. Shikamaru and Temari were nowhere to be found – most likely they had gone straight to the dorms after the dinner at Ichiraku's.

"Huh?"

The Hyuga bit her lower lip, not knowing what to say. She had avoided talking with him for a long time, and now it just felt weird. Especially with Ino standing not too far away.

"Are you alright? You were.. brooding."

"Yeah.. hey, Hinata?" Naruto asked suddenly. The girl noticed he had left the suffix out and wondered what it meant. She hoped it wouldn't change their realtionship too much. Though, right now she wasn't sure if they even had one.

"Do you ever think about.. that night?" His voice was steady, his eyes looking straight into hers. Hinata hesistated for a second before closing her eyes.

"I.. did read the book, Naruto-kun." It didn't need explaining. He knew what she meant.

"Then.. why haven't you said anything?" There was a hint of sadness in his voice. It made Hinata feel quilty – as she should. She had no right to ignore him just because she was afraif of talking to him.

"Even just reading the book I felt like.. like I was cheating on Ino again. And I feared that talking to you would only make things worse. That night – evening", Hinata corrected herself, for she had no real memory of what happened during the night, "was something I don't regret, but wish would have happened some other time. I'm sorry."

His eyes had a faraway look, but he nodded slightly when she finished.

"Yea, me too.."

And suddenly he was gone. Hinata blinked once, twice, then looked around. _'What part did he refer to?'_ She wondered, but was woken up from her musings when a hand landed on her shoulder.

"Hina-chan, Sakura and I are heading to the club just around the corner. Do you want to come with us?"

"No thanks, you know I'm not the clubbing type.. besides, we're still minors", she answered, looking pointedly at her girlfriend.

"They've always let me in", Ino grinned and walked to Sakura who was already waiting for her impatiently. Apparently this was the part of the night the pinkette had been waiting for the whole time.

"Don't wait up!" the blonde yelled over her shoulder just before rounding the corner. Hinata waved, signaling she had heard her.

Not many Konoha students were out on the streets anymore, and the Hyuga sighed in relief. She just might be able to get to her room without any major difficulties.

* * *

**2305**


	29. Betrayal

_Chapter 28 – Betrayal_

* * *

"Katari-san?"

Tenten opened her eyes and turned to look at the girl whose voice had woken her up from her reverie. A small smile graced her lips, _'I knew she wouldn't want to be out too late'_.

"Hinata! Actually, there was something I wanted to talk to you about.. you free?" Without letting the younger girl protest – not that she would have – the brunette took Hinata's arm and started walking towards the dorms.

"Is it okay if I crash at your place tonight?" the bun-haired girl asked perkily, as if nothing was wrong. The quick steps she took told the Hyuga otherwise, however, and Hinata nodded in agreement.

"Good, I forgot my keys, you see.." the indigo-haired girl tuned the brunette's rambles out. What did Tenten want to talk about? It was probably something about Neji, seeing that the two were really close – at lest that was the impression Hinata had gotten – and the two girls hadn't exactly been on close terms so it couldn't be anything too mundane.

The second Hinata closed the door behind them the expression on Tenten's face got serious.

"What I'm going to say will stay in this room, between us. Understood?"

There was nothing the Hyuga could do but nod. Tenten sighed, then plopped down on Hinata's bed – she had assumed the violet side of the room was hers – and signaled for the other girl to join her.

"You should.. be wary of Neji. He's.. well, it might be best that I start from the beginning, huh?"

* * *

Sakura and Ino headed for the bar. The night was still too young for them to dance to just any kind of music so they had decided to get something to drink first.

"Hello ladies. Can I buy you a drink?"

* * *

"The fact is.. Neji-kun and I met through your Father. My parents were in some pretty bad trouble and had run into debt.. Hiashi-san offered to help us if I became your cousin's friend. I know it sounds pretty weird: I wondered about it myself, too, but decided to accept his offer." Tenten began, twiddling nervously a strand of hair that had fallen out of her left hairbun.

'How does that make Neji untrustworthy?'

"I found out sometime later the reason I was asked to be his so-called 'friend': Neji-kun needed a contact in Kunoichi. At the time I didn't know my suspicions were raised, however, when all he did was ask about you and how you were doing.. What you liked to eat, when you went to sleep.. It was kind of creepy. But I, slowly, started to like him.. Anyway, one day after school I was supposed to meet him, but when I got to our meeting place he was talking with.. Karin."

"Wh-what?" Hinata asked. Her intention hadn't been to interrupt Tenten, but what the brunette had said really shocked the younger girl. Why would her nii-san have any kind of contact with the person that had made her life hell?

"We didn't meet as often after that. I realized that he had found what he had been looking for in Karin. I would have been okay with that – the sums of money still kept appearing on my parents' bank account – but, I have to admit, I was kind of.. jealous. I mean, out of everyone, why _her_? I had never liked her, I don't think _anyone_ did! Then something happened, and I understood everything. Karin started to _stalk_ you, Hinata, to surprise you when you were alone.. when Yamanaka wasn't around."

It was hard for Hinata to hold her silence – her cousin, her _nii-san_ wasn't like that! – but she bit her lower lip to stop herself from saying anything out loud. It was as if her nightmare had become reality.

Neji had wanted to hurt her.

"He's not a bad person, Hinata! He's.. he's doing it to become the Head of the Hyuga, to restore the honour his father had been stripped of by your Father.."

'_I don't want to hear it. I don't want to hear _any_ of it!'_

"Back then I didn't realize how serious the whole thing had gotten. The Kunoichi Incident woke me up. I.. I went through some records.." Tenten paused momentarily, an embarrassed blush rose to her cheecks, "and found out that Karin had received a call just minutes before the fire alarms had gone off.. from Neji-kun."

So the reason why the redhead had been awake that night..

Neji had known.

"I-I think it was Neji-kun who planned it all, Hinata. I think it was his idea to make Karin hurt you enough so you couldn't get out of there in time.."

Oh, how wrong Tenten was: it had all been _her_ fault! Guilt was starting to rise it's head in Hinata's mind. Yes, she had planned to make Karin disappear, but she had planned to go along with her. She had only wanted to make sure her efforts hadn't been in vain, and that's why she had gone to Karin's room. Only to find her ready to fight for her life.

In the end, it was her own cowardice that had saved Hinata.

".. I even saw him that night.. he watched the school blow up. His expression didn't change at all when we heard you scream."

* * *

"Who was that guy, anyway", Ino asked, leaning on Sakura for support. Her head was spinning already after two drinks. But she was drunk and happy, so she didn't let it bother her too much.

"Who?" the pinkette asked, looking around the room for cute guys to dance with.

"The guy who offered us the drinks. He looked kind of familiar, right?"

Sakura thought for a while, then nodded. The man _had_ looked really familiar, but she didn't know him. Maybe he was related to someone she knew? She told Ino this, and the blonde nodded furiously in agreement.

"Hey, you wanna dance?"

And Ino found herself alone once again. It was okay though, she didn't want to dance with just any random guy. Well, any guy, perioid. She knew Hinata trusted her not to cheat, and planned to be worth the trust. Besides, she was starting to feel really dizzy. She glanced at where Sakura had gone and tried to get an eyecontact with her, in vain. Sighing the blonde headed for the ladies room, knowing that it wasn't quite normal for her head to get this messed up after only a few drinks and ciders.

There was a line, of course. Suddenly annoyed, Ino pushed her way past the drunken, giggling bunch of females and ran to the farthest washbasin – if she threw up she didn't want to be the center of attention. Her body was starting to feel numb.

'_This is _so_ not normal..'_ was her last thought before everything went black.

* * *

"I continued pretending to be on okay terms with him. I was afraid of him, but.. I really can't help it. He's not himself. This all is happening because he's.. I don't know. I really don't know. I wanted to tell you, I _had_ to. I have to make him pay for the pain he's caused. Maybe he'll see he's wrong. Maybe he'll repent.."

Hinata couldn't find words to voice her thoughts.

"He.. told me to make sure you get to your room okay and stay here. I have a feeling he's about to do something.. to Ino.."

* * *

"What a line.." Sakura muttered to herself, tapping her foot impatiently. When she finally got inside the room, something caught her eye.

It was Ino. She seemed to be unconscious and everyone just ignored her, walking past her, not bothering to even glance at her.

She couldn't have paased out from drinking too much, the pinkette hadn't seen a drink in her hand since the mystery man had handed the second drinks to them. Then, a horrifying thought hit Sakura.

What if the drinks had been drugged? Or poisoned?

"Ino!" the pinkette made her way to the blonde heap on the floor and shook her. Nothing. She tried to feel if the older girl was breathing, to no avail. Sakura had no idea if it was because Ino _wasn't_ breathing or because she herself was too drunk to feel her breathing, and started panicking.

"Help.. help, somebody.." she muttered in panic, trying to dig her cellphoneout of her purse. Tears started to cascade down her cheecks. She had emptied all contents of the purse on the floor before finally realizing that the thing she was looking for was one of the first objects she had thrown out of her small bag. Sobbing, she grabbed it and unlocked the keypad. Without even thinking she dialed a number she had learnt by heart over the years.

With shaking hands she pressed the green "call" button.

When someone picked up, Sakura didn't even bother to give them an opportunity to speak.

"Ino's dead!" She sobbed into the phone, "She won't wake up. I think someone drugged her. Help, please.. She won't wake up.."

"Where are you?" Too drunk to even think about how weird it was for him to sound worried, Sakura answered all the questions she was asked, then after hearing a click she dried her tears onto her hand.

"Come on, Sasuke's going to pick us up.. Ino, wake up, please.."

* * *

**1561**


	30. Going Soft

A/N: Sorry for the crappy chapter. I tried my best, but I feel like I'm getting worse and worse at this.. And a writer's nemesis, a block, is onto me. Has been for a while. I hope for the best, however, and pray for the inspiration to appear :). I'm not giving up on this, I love this fic too much. If you find ANY grammatical mistakes or convoluted sentences etc, please inform me. I want to make this the best it can be :)!

* * *

Chapter 29 – Going Soft

*

Hinata sat, still and silent.

Neji-nii-san had.. tried to get her killed? And now he was after Ino for being there for her?

Someone crashed against the door, and soon a key was placed in the lock and the door was pushed open so fast that it banged against the wall.

"Hinata!" Temari tried to catch her breath, leaning against the doorframe and holding her cellphone in her right hand. Without giving herself time catch her breath after she had just ran all the stairs up to the top floor while still a bit whoozy from the alcohol, she tried to explain why she was there.

"Temari-chan! Are you alright?" Hinata jumped up from her bed, relieved that she got an excuse to think about _anything_ else than what she had just found out about her cousin. She helped the blonde inside the room and was about to close the door, but the older girl just shook her head and gave the cell she was holding to her. Confused about what was gong on, Hinata did as Temari signalled and held the device against her ear.

"Moshi moshi?"

"Hyuga?" a semi-familiar voice asked.

"H-hai, Uchiha-san, has something happened?" Why would he call her out of all the people? The last time Hinata checked, the raven haired boy seemed to detest her very excistence – not that he had done anything to make anyone suspicious, but as a Hyuga and having lived with her Father she was kind of sensitive to these kind of things.

"Something.. happened. Come to Ino's room as soon as you can. Tell the Sabaku to go get the nurse here. Sakura's taking too long.."

"Shizune-san?" Hinata wondered at loud. Why would the Uchiha need the nurse to go to Ino's room? Then she realized what he meant. "Is Ino alright? Why, how – "

"Just hurry, you're wasting time" were his last words before hanging up on her.

Temari was breathing normally again when the shorter girl had pulled herself together.

"Uchiha-san asked you to get Shizune-san to Ino's room", Hinata said hurriedly as she put on her jacket. The blonde muttered something about not being his messenger, but complied anyway.

The elevators were broken, as usual.

Hinata ran down one set of stairs with Temari, then turned to head towards the room 489 when a scream echoed in the hallway.

"Temari-chan, what happened?" Hinata asked, rounding the corner. The sight was not pretty.

The strong, independent and self-assured woman she had known for months was now completely broken, just a heap of sobbing mess on the floor on the mid-landing of the stairs of 4th and 3rd floor. Hinata ran to her and tried to calm her down but her comforting hand was slapped away as soon as it touched the older girl's shoulder.

"B-blood.."

Taken aback, Hinata turned to the stairs leading to the 3rd floor where Temari pointed at with a shaking finger. A bloody mess was lying on the landing. It had a green dress, pink hair..

'_Haruno-san!'_, Hinata thought in horror, _'Why? Uchiha-san said she was going to get the nurse. Did she fall down the stairs?'_

"Help.. _blood_.. someone, anyone, help!" Temari muttered, in her own world, holding her knees as close to her body as she could. That woke the Hyuga from her reverie. She quickly, but as gently as possible, peeled Temari's fingers from around the cell the blonde was still holding, and browsed through her phonebook to find someone she could call.

*

He looked at her face. It was pale, _too_ pale for his liking. At the moment he wished – no, _hoped_ – that she would yell "got you!" and start to giggle. But she stayed still.

Who could have done this to her?

Whoever it was, Sasuke was certain the culprit wouldn't live very much longer. He – or she, who knew – would be strangled by the younger Uchiha himself and stabbed with a huge kitchen knife with the Sabaku girl – no, she would cut him into pieces, then burn all the evidence.

Something was happening outside, he could hear it. A scream, perhaps? He couldn't be too sure since the walls were pretty soundproof, in the girl's dorms at least.

Slowly he stood up from the chair he had been sitting on and headed for the door.

No-one was in the corridor. Maybe he had imagined he had heard something? He stepped out the door and walked to where the stairs began. He saw two girls sitting on the landing between third and the fourth floor.

"Oi, what are you doing here? You're supposed to –" he directed his words to the Sabaku girl since the Hyuga was, for some reason, completely oblivious to him while messing around with a cellphone.

'_Wait, I thought she didn't have one! Was Shikamaru lying to me, and why?'_

"Kankuro-san!" the usually silent girl suddenly yelled out, catching Sasuke's attention. She had been dialing a number?

"Please, go get Shizune-san! Something happened to Ino and Haruno-san fell down the stairs and there's blood everywhere and – " then she fell silent, the Sabaku on the other end had probably cut her off.

'_Blood?'_ Sasuke gave a start, then searched for the pink-haired girl with his eyes.

"Y-yes, she's muttering things.. The stairs in the girl's dorms, Haruno-san's on the third floor –" and again, the Hyuga stopped her sentence.

"H-hai.. arigato."

Conducting that the call was over, Sasuke walked down the stairs to where the two girls were. He was hesistant to look where the Hyuga had said Sakura was – he probably wouldn't want to see it, since it had reduced the Sabaku woman into a sobbing wreck.

"U-Uchiha-san!" the pale girl had finally noticed his presence.

"What.. happened?" he asked, not sure if he even wanted to know. Everything had been fine, then he had received a panicked call from Sakura. After carrying the unconscious blonde to her room he had called Shikamaru to get through to Hinata. The Uchiha didn't have her number, and the pineapple had claimed she didn't own one, so Temari, who had conveniently been there, was sent to pass on the message. He went through all the trouble not out of kindness, but since he was sure she would like to know. And when Ino woke up, she would probably want to see the Hyuga heiress first, anyway. It wasn't because he was going soft. Which, mind you, he wasn't. He just wanted to see Ino happy.

'_And _that_ didn't sound corny'_, a voice in his head piped up, but was quickly silenced by a mental slap.

* * *

1100


	31. Sunny

A/N: I apologize for the lateness.

_Chapter 30 – Sunny_

* * *

Darn his curious nature. The mistake he had made by going to the girls' dormitory to see whether the poison had worked.. it could get him locked up. All the work he had done thus far would be wasted if anyone had seen him – or remembered seeing him, in the pink haired girl's case.

His quick walk turned into a half-run at that thought. This time he _really_ might get caught.

But he had wanted, and still did _so much_, to see how his plan was working. Had the poison already gotten into the blonde's bloodstream? How much damage would it do before she got proper treatment? How the dear, sweet Hinata would blame herself.. and her cousin.

Most would probably think Neji was to blame for all the misfortune in her life. Hah, the boy was too darn _soft_ to do anything properly. All those time he could have finished the heiress – or even her blonde lover – off if he had just _focused_.

Well, it all just showed that the old saying was true: if you want anything done, do it yourself.

* * *

"W-we were just going to get help, and the-" Hinata started, but her sentence was cut off when she automatically turned to look at the bloody mess while . Unable to continue, she quickly turned her head away just to see that Temari's eyes were still fixed on the sight.

"Dear Kami-sama.. Temari!"

Seeing that the two girls were completely _useless_, Sasuke took off to where Sakura was. Her situation wasn't as bad as it had looked like from further away, but still bad nonetheless. She had hit her head on a corner of a stair and apparently all the blood on her dress was from a big cut on her right upper arm. Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea to send her running down the stairs as drunk as she had been?

No, wait – was that _blood_ under her nails? Sasuke kneed down next to the unconscious girl to take a closer look.

'So it wasn't an accident.. shit, who could have done this?'

Oh how he would have loved to get all Crime Scene Investiation on the situation, but the sound of people running up the stairs woke him up from his reverie.

"Kuso! Nee-chan, hang in there!" Kankuro shouted and ran up the stairs, completely ignoring him. The nurse, Shizune, was only a few steps behind him. She gave out instructions to three men, apparently ambulance workers.

"Uchiha-kun, where's Yamanaka-san?" she asked him after Sakura had been lifted up onto a stretcher. Sasuke stood up quickly and led her to the room where he had – and only then did he realize that he had – left her alone.

"M-may I come?" the nurse shook her head at the girl who had followed them and was now standing on the doorway.

"No Hyuga-san, only relatives are allowed to accompany patients in the ambulance car. You should check on your friend and walk her to my office. I need to make sure Yamanaka-san and Haruno-san will be properly identified before –" her sentence was cut in half when Ino was carried out of the room in a hurry. Hinata quickly stepped away from the doorway and let them through. Shizune went after them, leaving the two youngsters to themselves.

"A-ano.. thank you for taking care of Ino-sempai, Uchiha-san" Hinata said and bowed low to show her sppreciation.

"Hn", was the only answer she got.

* * *

She opened her eyes to darkness.

A high and irritating beeping noise came from her left, clicking on high heels could be heard a bit farther away, shuffling of clothes. Where was she, at a hospital? Why was everything so dark? It must be night, she decided.

But why would people walk around in darkness, even in it _was_ night? Shouldn't a hospital have lights? Or was she just hearing things? Was she just imaging that she was surrounded by soft things, a comforter, pillow, bed..

Where the _hell_ was she?!

"Anyone?" she whispered, finding her throat dry as a desert.

No-one answered.

* * *

"Please, I _have_ to see her!" Hinata said for the third time, but the nurse just shook her head.

"I have told you already, family only", she repeated, completely annoyed by the fragile girl in front of her. Was she stupid? 'Family only' meant blood-relatives, adoptive parents and children, and spouses.

Well, it was clear that the girl had strong feelings for the patient, and the nurse _could_ have been nice and let her see her.. friend, but she was absolutely repulsed by the young girl. A Hyuga, for Kami-sama's sake, couldn't be a _lesbian_! It was unnatural, against _everything_ the 28-year-old brunette had learned in school, from her parents and the Bible.

And now this _freak_ wanted to impose her beliefs on _her_ and, ignoring every law of nature, sensibility and rationalism, wanted to see her.. _friend_.

"What if she is dying?!" Hinata finally screamed, having had enough of the nurse's discriminative attitude.

"She isn't", the brunette said and turned away to signal the doorkeeper who had listened in for a while now to accompany the loud girl outside.

* * *

"What are you doing here?" Sasuke asked the blond who was now taking huge gulps of air, leaning forward with his hand on his knees, trying to catch his breath.

"What do you think?" Naruto finally answered, meeting the Uchiha's eyes.

"Seeing Sakura?"

"No, both. How is Ino?" Blue eyes were clearly worried, and Sasuke suspected it wasn't directly related to the blonde girl's situation.

It was quite pathetic, actually, how both of them had ended up in the same situation. The dobe clearly had his eyes on the Hyuga girl, while he – the most sought after male in the whole campus – was quite attracked to the girl's girlfriend.

"The nurse didn't let Hinata see her", Sasuke commented, only after finishing his sentence he realized he had called the Hyuga by her first name. Why, he didn't know, but made a mental note to drop it before it became a habit. He certainly wasn't close to her, hell, they weren't even on friendly terms with each other!

"What?!" Naruto yelled, getting quite a few angry looks from the people in the waiting room.

"They chased her out."

The blond's jaw dropped to the floor, unable to fully comprehend the situation. They had thrown Hinata out because.. The look on Sasuke's face confirmed it. They had thrown her out because she was a.. _'Darn, even _I _have a hard time saying it..'_

"Which one?" His friend nodded towards a brunette nurse on her late twenties, who was sitting at the front desk and was speaking to someone on the phone. Without thinking, Naruto walked up to her, then recognized her when he was five meters away.

The nurse seemed to recognize him too, because she swiftly hung up – it hadn't been a work-related call – and walked over the desk to greet him.

"Uzumaki-san! I'm so glad to see you! Suzumi-chan has been asking me when you're coming over again", she smiled and bowed.

"Did you throw a Hyuga Hinata out just now, Mari?" straight to the point, as always. The question left the brunette taken aback; did he _know_ the Hyuga? Why would a sweet, caring and more importantly heroic young man like him be associated with a freak like her?

"Y-yes.."

"Mari-chan, would you have let me see Ino if I had claimed to be her boyfriend?" Sasuke arched one eyebrow; now that was quite observant of the dobe, unusually at that. So Naruto could be useful at a time like this?

"W-well.. but, it's different! It's unnatural – "

"Just as your contacts are, Mari-chan."

Had he been Shikamaru, Sasuke would have left the scene. The atmosphere was just too troublesome, even though it was clear who would win the argument.

Silence continued, and Naruto did something completely unexpected. He grabbed a hold of Sasuke's hand and pulled him close.

"Would you tell me never to speak to you again if I was with him?"

* * *

Footsteps were heading her way. Hurried steps. Ino waited, there was nothing else she could do with the lights out.

She had thought of other possibilities for the lack of light, but didn't want to dwell on them. So, until a doctor told her what was going on she was going to trust her lack of lighting-theory.

"Ino-chan!"

Hinata. But where –

She almost jumped at the sudden contact. Hinata had taken her hands into her own, cold hands. Had she been outside? Was it cold there? Was it a day or night?

"Hina.." she whispered, her throat still dry.

"Wait, I'll get you some water", her girfriend whisperes back, though her voice was close. Was she leaning in? Ino gripped what she could, and ended up holding the younger girl's fingers in her left fist. The hard grip topped the other girl. Shuffling, then creak of a door.

Had somebody been with Hinata?

"Ino-chan, has a doctor been here?" Meaning, did she know what had happened. Ino shook her head, blinking a few times. She still couldn't see her girlfriend.

"Ino, _love_.." that tone, that _soft_ tone. Something was wrong. Something was _really, really_ wrong.

"The doctor said it's only temporary, but.. you've lost your sight." Ino felt, besides the tears that were silently running down her cheecks, warmth on her face.

It must have been sunny outside.

* * *

**1580**


	32. a Once Upon a December

_Chapter 31a – Once Upon a December_

A/N: Due to the fact that I can't seem to come up with anything Behind Closed Doors-related, I'll have to let this one go. This pathetically short chapter is the last one, divided in two parts (as can be seen from the title). I apologize for the huge gaps between the latest chapters, seems like I got a life – or lost one, more like it (aka need to study) – at the worst time possible. Please, do enjoy this chapter – and the second part of it – to the fullest, and let me know what you think!

* * *

She couldn't believe her ears.

"Hinata-sama, you have to believe me. It isn't safe for you anymore.. not since.." he left the sentence unfinished, knowing she knew what he meant.

Hinata appeared to not have heard him, she was still clutching the piece of paper he had handed her half an hour earlier.

"But Ino.."

"She will recover, you heard the doctor. She will be alright. It is _you_ that's in danger. Poisoning her was a warning to me to get my act together. And to – "

"To get rid of the only thing that keeps me sane."

Silence filled the room.

Whaever she decided to do, now knowing the whole truth, would affect everyone around her. Certain actions needed to be taken, if she decided to leave. And if she stayed.. things would become so much more complicated than before.

"Just for a year or two, Hinata-sama. You need to get away."

That is, if she decided to trust him.

"How is Haruno-san?" Hinata asked, stalling her answer. She heard her cousin sigh, but didn't look up to meet his eyes. Neji stood up and walked to the window, gazing out.

It was snowing, and Christmas was only a few days away.

Ino had been in hospital for a week, then returned to school. She still hadn't gotten her sight back, but had already gotten somewhat used to normal life. Doctors predicted she would gain complete eyesight within five years. Haruno Sakura, on the other hand, was still in hospital. At first sight her wounds had looked external, but during closer inspection it had become very clear that she had hit her head on the stairs, and had had a bad case of internal bleeding. She was stabile, for now, but still hadn't woken up. It was her seventh week in the hospital.

"Only time will tell, Hinata-sama. Let me handle things from now on", Neji said and turned to look at his cousin. The dark circles under her eyes were a clear sign of her worsened nightmares during the past couple of weeks.

"If I leave.. what will happen to Ino? Who will –" she paused, swallowed down the tears that threatened to cascade down her cheecks, "who will take care of her while I'm gone?"

"I think you know the answer already, Hinata-sama."

Chocking back a sob, the Hyuga heiress finally let her emotions take over.

* * *

"You – you want me to.." he couldn't believe his ears. Was the girl serious? She had fought so hard for Ino, and she knew he had feelings for the blonde. The idiot _knew_ what might happen. And still she asked him to take care of her?

"I know you care for her, and that's what she needs. I.. I'll only cause trouble. I'm sure Shikamaru-san has already told you about my.. family situation. I need to leave." She whispered hurriedly; she was running out of time, and _air_. Just thinking that, after a year, Ino and he could be.. together. It took her last ounce of self control not to faint from all the feelings that threatened to surface.

"You're willing to let her go that easily?"

Hinata would have exploded right then and there, shouted and hit him unconscious, if it wasn't for the calming and reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"You clearly don't know the details, and it'd better stay that way. Make sure Nara doesn't tell anyone, he might have figured it all out by now."

Sasuke was fine not knowing few little, unrelated, internal Hyuga clan problems. Though it must be something vad for her to have to disappear for a while, he was somehow glad that he'd get the change to spend more time with Ino. After all, it had been the Hyuga heiress that had been a wall bethween him and the blonde.

It seemed like the wall was tumbling down.

* * *

**647**


	33. b Once Upon a December

_Chapter 31b – Once Upon a December_

* * *

She didn't need to be told. She knew Hinata had left, had known ever since last Christmas Eve. Her soft voice had seemed more sad than Ino had ever even could have imagined it to be, that night. The next day she could feel that something was missing.

Sasuke was around more often nowadays. Maybe Hinata had left him 'in charge'. Why though, Ino often pondered to herself. No matter how indifferent the Uchiha might act, the fact that he liked her hadn't escaped her eyes. Well, her senses. It must have been a hard desicion, to ask him to take care of her.

The only ones who really seemed to be sad about Hinata's disappearance were Temari, herself and Kiba, a boy their age. He had never really talked to the heiress – ex-heiress – but after she had been declared missing Naruto had seen him crying. Bless the poor fellow.

The blond loudmouth was busy these days, taking care of Sakura. She had woken up in January, unable to move her legs. The pinkette was much more tolerant of him nowadays, and had even blushed when he had brought her flowers on Valentine's Day.

Well, that's what she had heard from Temari, who had made sure to visit her at least once a week and share every possible gossip there was, even though she was a fresh graduate from University, and was working long days in the local law firm as a solicitor. Shikamaru, though it was hard to believe, was often seen helping her out with her preparations to set up a firm of her own. They had never mentioned a wedding, though Temari often stopped dead on her tracts when she saw a jewelry shop.

Neji was in jail for assisting in an attempt to murder Hinata. Tenten had testified against him.

Hyuga Hiashi had disappeared a couple of months after Hinata had been declared missing. No-one knew if he was dead or alive, except Neji. He wouldn't talk, though. As a result the Hyuga empire had fallen, and Sasuke's old family stocks had risen in value.

Ino didn't care about any of that.

Neji had told her, before his trial, that he had made Hinata promise to be away for a year. That meant that if she was alright, she would be coming home.

Tonight.

* * *

_Far away, long ago  
Things I yearn to remember  
And a song someone sings  
Once upon a December_

* * *

**388**

A/N: I want to thank you all for reading this fic. Thank you for wonderful reviews, for encouraging words and feedback. I really appreciate that you have taken time to read this, and even more if you're reading even this (meaning, you've continued till the bitter end xD). Thank you so much for your love and support.

As to why I decided to end this here:

I write if I get an inspiration. My muse has been kind enough to whisper all this in my ear, but lately she's been withdrawing her help. She has begun to hint that there are other things that need addressing, other settings, other inspirations. And I've decided to follor her advice.

Many wonderful fics have started going downhill if continued for too long. This, 31 chapters, seems to be my limit. Trying to continue any more seems futile, and I fear forcibly continuing would affect my writing.

Too long fics are a pain in the ass, to be honest. I want this to be readable; not too short, not too long.

Again, I want to thank you all for being with me through this writing (and non-writing xD) process. And, as I said, my Muse is still here. My source of inspiration hasn't abandoned me :) so finishing this fic doesn't mean I'm not going to write any more.

If you're looking for more InoHina, I'd recommend one-shot Sunny, after which I named one chapter of this fic :).

I hope to hear from you guys!

Nibinlotwen.


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